Where are the women producing music? How can we help bring them forward?!
In recent years, we have seen much needed discussion and effort for affirmative action to increase diversity in various fields. In film, female composers comprise just 3% of the total professional workforce, according to the latest report by Annenberg Inclusion. People of colour from all genders represent an even smaller percentage, while in the popular music industry female producers only hold 5% of the marketplace.
What are the underlying causes of such disparity?
There are several reasons to be considered that can help answer the question of why female composers and producers occupy such a small percentage of the field.
Although the examination of this disparity alone could be the basis of an entire History thesis, I think we can explore the topic to advance the conversation.
Music has always been a heavily male dominated field with decades of evidence of women being ignored, downplayed or downright shut down. Although there have been more than 5000 noted female composers from 450 BC to the 21st century, they have not been given the same visibility or opportunity as male composers.
In fact, females have had difficulty publishing, performing or recording, remaining largely ignored or marginalized until the late 20th century, despite fighting through societal barriers. Many examples exist where women had to publish their music under a male pseudonym or under their husband’s name to be taken seriously, as was the case for composer Fanny Mendelssohn.
When it comes to popular music production, we have seen decades of women being recognized and encouraged to stick to being singers or performers. Artists that demonstrated the talent to produce their own music such as Betty Davis were often discouraged, dropped by their label and/or miscredited. This led Davis to abandon the music industry in the late 70’s, before closing off completely for years.
Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Kate Bush’s debut single "Wuthering Heights" topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in 1978. She was the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song and signaling a worldwide sociocultural shift. However, her influence goes beyond that.
In 1980, Bush released her third album Never For Ever, the first album she co-produced with Jon Kelly that would also become her first number one record. After that success, she began writing a new batch of songs and worked on them for 2 years, deciding to produce an album entirely on her own. The result was The Dreaming - a captivating and highly experimental masterpiece with a more dense and layered sound, breaking from her previous work and inspiring her to continue producing.
In 1992, Linda Perry, former lead singer and main songwriter of 4 Non Blondes had a different vision for their debut album ‘Bigger, Better, Faster, More!’ than producer David Tickle. Dissatisfied with the recorded instrumental and vocal sounds, she went back to the studio and re-recorded the music with an edgier production style closer to her vision on the original demo. It was her production of the smash hit song “What’s Up” that made the final cut, yet David Tickle was still credited as the producer.
From that point on, Perry became more interested in controlling the production of her music and securing credit for her creative output. Nowadays it is an understatement to say she is one of the most successful producers in the industry, writing and producing iconic songs for artists such as Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, Celine Dion, James Blake, as well as scoring several films.
Although times have changed for the better for women in music, there is a long road until women get the recognition they deserve. Artists such as Björk, Regina Spektor, Grimes, Raye, Rosalía, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat and King Princess have demonstrated remarkable production skills besides their songwriting, singing and performance abilities.
Furthermore, there is a stereotype embraced by many that women are less interested in music technology. These stereotypes and bias make it more difficult for women in the field to be taken seriously and also could be the reason why many women do not feel encouraged to consider the idea of entering it in the first place. To this day, women have been socialized and incentivized to pursue roles and occupations that involve “care” in fields such as nursing, psychology, etc. But the truth is, there seems to be no biological obstacle that separates women from becoming innovators in music tech.
Oscar winner composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, Grammy nominated producer Linda Perry and renowned artist/producers Kate Bush and Björk have something in common: they all produced entire commercially successful albums on their own - extraordinary proof that women can have a successful career in music production and composition. If women can have a solid career in music production, why the number of women producing mainstream music still so low?
One of the reasons could be in theses environments. Is the industry actually ready to welcome minorities, especially women?! Women are still lacking representation when entering a predominantly male environment, ranging from audio engineering education to actually having a seat at the console at a professional recording studio. The barriers of sexism and misogyny are often present, inhibiting them from feeling welcome, motivated, supported or even safe. In this sense, many women are entering an environment in which they might face sexual harassment (as reported by several composers in this article), and the numbers show that women are still promoted less frequently and at slower pace than males. Rather than encouraging growth and self-esteem, misogynistic environments encourage women to leave.
Moreover, studies show that men are hired and promoted for their potential, while women are judged by their experience and track record, contributing to the vicious cycle. In fact, women are reluctant to even apply for job positions based on their own potential, waiting instead to meet 100% of the requirements, therefore applying to 20% less job postings than male counterparts.
In addition, as in many areas, producing music at a commercial level requires standardizing systems and standardizing processes. The same names make songs for different artists and different films again and again, contributing to a lack of diversity. People also want to work with experienced producers that have strong and successful track records, but if women and people of colour are not being employed how can they create the credits that would bring them forward with jobs and opportunities?!
Structural changes take time, but can we do anything to break this cycle? Can things be different? How can we help? Do changes need to be forced until they become natural? Who can help? Probably mostly men!
While skills, talent and experience should still be taken in consideration in the process of hiring a producer/composer, such as in any other field, there are several ways in which we can help bring more equal opportunities to women and minorities and to create more awareness that this is actually a field in which they prosper. I believe affirmative actions are necessary until the day we will not need to refer to female, non-binary or BIPOC producers/composers anymore, but refer to them simply as composers and producers.
Here’s a few but important measures to implement on a regular basis that might help more than just having an online panel once a year for Women’s Day:
Be aware of different types of bias & make efforts every day to overcome them
Create awareness among men specifically since they are most likely in the position to change things
Include men in this change: make them allies, advocates, supporters and challengers of the current system
Create safe spaces while challenging your company/institution’s own non-inclusive culture (if that’s the case)
Include more female & BIPOCs composers/producers in your music company’s pool and give more opportunities based on potential (tip: for that you might need to actively look outside your circle & you can start by testing them with spec projects or smaller ones pitching against your go-to composers)
Create mentorship programs & paid internship position with a development strategy (this means the female intern does not do only office management tasks, but also gets to put their hands on the actual work)
Create or fund scholarships
Support diverse recruitment & leadership positions
Lower the salary gap between genders & BIPOCs
Donate to organizations that are helping these causes:
And last but not least, listen to women and support their work.
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