Founded by three Eastman School of Music graduates, Womxn Mean Business is a collaborative organization providing musical training and mentorship to young, femme and/or nonbinary musicians. Our mission is to encourage and foster a culture of equity, innovation, and collaboration amongst musicians of all backgrounds with an emphasis on gender identity and sexual orientation. This initiative works to create opportunities for students to develop education skills by establishing a well-rounded and diverse curriculum for femme and LGBTQ+ youth musicians. Multifaceted, we are serving the community one concert at a time and are here to innovate, collaborate, and advocate.
Women Mean Business draws the curtain on discrimination in music
"The three-day festival honored all musicians traditionally neglected because of their race, sexual orientation, gender — the list goes on. As people took their seats at the table of the Eastman Dean’s Dining, it became clear that Women Mean Business was doing something right. The talk was not only well-attended, but well-balanced in gender, race, and familiarity with the subject matter.
Over the next few days, more people convened — one day at Fuego’s coffee shop, the next at co-founder Luisa Hidalgo’s apartment — to listen to famous works by minority women composers, and original works by female Eastman students.
Through frustration, passion, and coincidence, each co-founder took a different path to joining the fight."
Efua Agyare - Kumi for Campus Times, March 13, 2019