But what about the subject of music? Not just singing but learning about the theory of music, and the works of great composers, choral work etc. Surely all that could be something that boys could find interesting and would have been in classes with the girls as well
It is ironic that after girls have studied hard, they then have a struggle to gain credibility in the music industry because, in most cases, it is the gentlemen who make decisions and judgements on submitted works. Some do not have the musical knowledge and have worked their way into, and then higher up in the music business by being able to get employment as A&R reps, even tea-boys, postal-clerks.
They gained contacts, experience and power by working in publishing offices or with record-labels. They, then, are the people who can make or break the aspirations of people who have a musical knowledge, and women hardly get their feet off the ground before their confidence is wrecked.
In classical music, it may be easier for women if they want to be composers and are able to go on to Music Academies, but the few I know of are not really well-known and so it is possible they come up against the same barriers. I'm not quite sure what the barriers actually are, but whatever, they do seem to be there.
I know that my own musical knowledge has been used to advantage others in the commercial business (in a quiet way) but no credibility and recognition for the help of my knowledge. It is a thought-provoking situation.
I will try to find the names of the women-composers in recent times for interest.