THE National Piping Centre today launched a study to find out why more women don’t play the bagpipes.
Its six-month “Women in Piping and Drumming: Equality, Inclusivity, and Diversity” project is being run in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
The study includes an online survey, which runs until 2 June.
Lady Oona Ivory, chair of The National Piping Centre’s equality, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI) group, said: “As part of EDI development at The National Piping Centre, a dedicated team of women began discussions regarding women in piping and drumming – this survey is the result of these discussions.
“Anyone participating in the survey can be assured of complete anonymity.
“It will be enormously helpful to have this data to inform our inclusion strategy for women.
“We also hope that it will be useful to the piping community and other relevant organisations.”
For international participants, the survey asks specifically about their experiences with bagpipes and drums in Scotland.
Helen Urquhart, marketing and piping events manager at the National Piping Centre, added: “There have always been trailblazing women in the piping and drumming community.
“However, looking at the makeup of who is currently participating, it is clear that there is still a huge disparity in gender representation.
“This research aims to understand the lived experience of women who have, and currently, take part in piping and drumming activities, to learn more about the barriers to entry and to continuation and participation.
“The National Piping Centre will use the outcomes from this publicly available research, to develop new pathways and support systems to bring more women and girls into participating in the piping and drumming world.”
Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s culture pages.
Plus, don’t miss author Alexander McCall Smith’s column in the May issue of Scottish Field magazine.
TAGS
FOLLOW US
