Global Leadership Report 2025

This report is DDP’s fourth annual report analyzing gender distribution among leadership at ballet and classically based companies worldwide. This year’s study expands upon previous findings by incorporating data on music directors and principal conductors for the first time, as well as providing a comprehensive analysis of artistic directors by continent.

The 2025 report examines 163 companies from 61 countries alongside the Largest 50 U.S. companies, bringing the total sample size to 213 companies. 

The report identifies that of the 217 artistic directors leading classically based dance companies in the U.S. and internationally, 65 (30.0%) are women, while 152 (70.0%) are men. Comparatively, in 2024, 29% of artistic directors were women and 71% were men, demonstrating little change over the past year. Europe has the highest number of female artistic directors, with 26 women in leadership roles. South America has the highest proportion of women artistic directors, where 55.6% (5 out of 9) of artistic directors are women.

Among the 11 largest ballet companies, globally, those with more than 100 dancers, only 3 (27.3%) are led by women, while 8 (72.7%) are led by men. This marks a slight decline from 2024, where 4 of 12 such companies (33%) were led by women. Women are more likely to hold leadership positions at smaller companies, with 35.8% of companies with 24 or fewer dancers led by women. Additionally, 1.9% of these companies have co-artistic directors of different genders. 

Women currently hold 60.9% of head of school positions, 49.2% of executive director roles, 46.2% of assistant/associate artistic director roles, 32.3% of artistic director positions at second companies, and 57.9% of rehearsal director roles. Of note: The percentage of female heads of schools has steadily declined, from 71% in 2023 to 70% in 2024 and now to 60.9% in 2025, indicating a shift toward male leadership in a position traditionally held by women.

For the first time, the report includes data on music directors and principal conductors, revealing that only 12.5% of these positions are held by women, compared to 87.5% by men.