Emerging research demonstrates that the Australian Jazz and Improvisation Cultural Sector is not gender-inclusive and poses career development challenges for diverse communities. This project aims to develop new knowledge in historical and contemporary practices of inclusion, exclusion and participation in order to identify the individual, collective and institutional facilitators and constraints on gendered participation. The project's significance lies not only in its contributions to the sector's policy and practice, but also its mentoring of an emerging generation of researchers. The intended outcomes are recommendations for industry and education policy, practice and further research that will benefit the sector's sustainability.