At the end of my interview with jazz violinist Nora Germain, I realized that I had forgotten to ask her an important question spurred by her book. Why did she choose to write only one important sentence about her experience as a woman in the jazz industry?
  “After many years of being underestimated, discarded, harassed, assaulted, fired, groped, robbed, propositioned, and abused, after looking over my shoulder and clarifying my comments, being put down, intimidated and assaulted, insulted, he at least was one musician, one older musician who I felt comfortable being around.”
Nora Germain, Go For It (Amazon)
I did incorporate some of this part of the interview into the full podcast, but I wanted to feature the full conversation here because I think Nora brings up some really important points. Women, she points out, don’t just experience being a woman in a male-dominated industry at single points in time—women experience being women all of the time. Nora chooses not to highlight her struggles as a woman, but she ends with an important statement that I think everyone should hear and understand.
Listen in.
- Check out the uncut video on YouTube (This part of the conversation starts at 1:06.)
- Check out the full audio episode, “The Giving Mindset with Nora Germain“