Women in the music industry face ‘endemic’ levels of misogyny, a new report has revealed.
Eilidh Miller
08/03/24
(Image Credit: Antoine J. on Unsplash)
The A report, published by the Women and Equalities Committee stresses that ‘urgent’ action is needed to combat serious levels of gender inequality in the UK music industry.
‘Misogyny in Music’, the first enquiry of its kind, highlights the “endemic” levels of how gender power imbalances and discrimination faced by women play out in the music industry.
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Glasgow-based DJ, Inez, told Blether Magazine that she often feels that she’s, “just been selected as a ‘tick box’ so that promoters can say they’ve booked a woman, and not because they actually enjoy the tunes I play or support the work I do”.
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The report revealed that women face limited opportunities, lack of support and persistent unequal pay -all of which are heightened for women with intersectional identities.
When compared to men in the music industry, female artists often feel undervalued and undermined, and that they have to work harder to earn the same recognition.
(Image Credit: @Inez.gla on Instagram)
The report recognises that there have been increases in representation for women in the music industry, but equality is still out of reach.
“I’ve often had men cut off my sets before I’ve finished without asking because they’d rather just get right into their own set. It’s really infuriating”.
The inequalities faced by women in music spread to every inch of the industry and is very much a systemic issue. Inez, real-name Shona Thomson, notes that it’s a “real issue” that “most, if not all, of the people in higher up positions are men, even if there are women with equal experience or skills”.
(Image Credit: @Inez.gla on Instagram)
The cross-party committee of MPs who produced the report have called on ministers to improve protections for women facing misogyny and discrimination in the music industry.
However, the chair of the committee, Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, said in her final comments that “a shift in the behaviour of men - and it is almost always men – at the heart of the music industry is the transformative change needed for talented women to quite literally have their voices heard and be both recognised and rewarded on equal terms”.
You can read the full report here.