There has been much discussion in the last 50 years or so about gender equality in conducting, particularly with increased awareness and intensity in the last decade. But the big question is whether this is still an issue in 2019. Despite there finally having been a first female conductor conducting the Last Night of the Proms (Marin Alsop 2013) and the First Night of the Proms (Karina Canellakis 2019), the fact that there are still ‘firsts’ going on indicates that society hasn’t changed enough. A large factor that influences conductors in society is the way they are represented in the press. It harks back to traditional terminology such as ‘concertmaster’, used commonly still in Europe and is more well-known in the UK as the leader of the orchestra. This gender specific word connotes the leader of the orchestra as male and this inconsistency of terminology carries through to today. ‘Female conductors’ : we see this frequently in articles, on social media, TV coverage etc. A