The 1970s innovation of blind auditions—in which auditioning musicians are heard but not seen—was a monumental step for fair hiring in orchestras. Virtually overnight, the placement of a screen in between the auditioning player and their review panel made gender and racial discrimination in orchestra hiring logistically impossible. Only a few short decades later, long-male-dominated American orchestras were approaching gender parity. Orchestras that had once been all-white were far from it. It was the ultimate win for equality in an ultra-competitive industry.
I guess now only fitness models will win orchestra jobs...all kidding aside this is worrisome.