“In an era when women commonly run everything from universities to Fortune 500 companies to entire countries, why has it taken so long for a single leading orchestra to take the step? The fact is, classical music has been extraordinarily hidebound when it comes to gender issues. American orchestras have been far ahead of many of their European counterparts on this front, with women making up a third or more of the membership of several leading ensembles and regularly dominating the string section. But things have been just as hard for female conductors in the United States as they are across the Atlantic.”