Demographic Study of Band Programs and Conductors in the National Association for Music Education's Southern Division

The purpose of this study was to investigate the number of male and female band directors in the NAfME Southern Division at the collegiate level. Specifically, I wanted to know a) What is the number of males vs. females who conduct a collegiate band ensemble? b) Is there a difference between the number of male and female band directors in the NAfME Southern Division? c) Is there a difference between the number of male and female Directors of Bands in the NAfME Southern Division? d) Is there a difference in the number of female band directors by state in the NAfME Southern Division? Results showed that there were far fewer female band directors than there were male band directors in the southern division. A significant difference was found between the number of male and female band directors with male directors in the majority. A significant difference was also found between the number of male and female Directors of Bands, with men accounting for 85% of Directors of Bands in the NAfME Southern Division. Lastly, a significant difference was found between the numbers of female college band directors in each state with a range of 1-6 across the eleven different states. Possible explanations for the disparity between male and female band directors and recommendations for future research are included.