239 Addressing Gender Equality in Music Production
and networking facilitator in addition to working hard to gain recognition
is too much to ask from the small numbers of women in the industry. It is
just one of the many “double-binds” that those in a minority face in the
workplace (Ballenger 2010). Additionally, this perpetuates the culture that
women take on more of the academic “housework” than their male col-
leagues (Guarino and Borden 2017).
In line with our previous recommendations concerning the introduction
of targets, a powerful message here would be for administrative responsi-
bilities and roles (such as chairing of equality and diversity committees)
to be more equally shared between women and men, and for those men
to be visible in advancing the agenda. This also extends to the running of
targeted outreach activities: whilst outreach specifically targeting women
is positive with clear benefits of such activities being led by women, this
again creates an extra burden on the minority. Fixing the gender problem
should not, and cannot, be left as the sole responsibility of the minority
group.
Recommendation: The majority group in music production (men) take
responsibility for driving change, as well as acting as allies to their female
colleagues.
Work to Break Down Sexism in the Industry
The way that the music industry thinks about and treats women is the
biggest barrier to their inclusion and progression in music production.
Women in the industry report that their skills are discounted or dismissed
by colleagues, their work is not taken seriously and not recognized, and
they have to prove themselves in order to earn respect (Prior et al. 2019;
Smith et al. 2019). Continuing to raise the profile of women in the indus-
try, offering mentoring, and raising awareness of gender issues are good
initiatives, but more must be done within the industry to address stereo-
typical views of women.
In addition to feeling professionally overlooked, women are typically
stereotyped and sexualized: they report being “subject to innuendo, unde-
sired attention, propositioned, valued for their appearance, and even an
awareness or fear of being personally unsafe in work situations” (Prior
et al. 2019; Smith et al. 2019: 9) or even subject to “constant sexual harass-
ment” (Prior et al. 2019; Smith et al. 2019: 19).
With regards to the higher education sector, the 1752 Group recommend
a list of strategic priorities to start to address sexual misconduct (The 1752
Group 2017). The first of these is to establish an enforceable code of con-
duct which makes professional boundaries clear. A mechanism for those
affected to report sexual misconduct/harassment is key. It is also crucial
for workplace leaders to raise awareness of the very damaging cumulative
effect of gender microaggressions, the prevalence of subtle and not-so-
subtle gender bias, and to provide guidance for those who witness gender
discrimination on how they should respond (Basford et al. 2014; Jones
et al. 2016). Those who experience sexism (in whatever form) must feel
like action will be taken if they report it.
240
Jude Brereton, et al.
Recommendation: Adopt a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harass-
ment and gender microaggressions and implement a robust and sensitively
handled reporting mechanism.
Code of Best Practice for Music Production
We are presented with a timely opportunity to build on the positive for-
ward steps being made across our culture in gender diversity, alongside the
initiative and campaigns that directly target the music production industry
that have been discussed so far.
Recommendation: Establish a code of best practice for the music pro-
duction industry which addresses the following:
Continue Effective Interventions
Whilst we have highlighted that perhaps not all interventions perform as
desired, there is evidence that some do have an effect, including visibility
of role models, networking, and mentoring schemes.
The lack of role models in male-dominated sectors is often quoted as
one of the barriers to participation in STEM (Valian 1999; Dasgupta and
Stout 2014; Prior et al. 2019; Smith et al. 2019). Increasing the visibility of
role models helps to break down stereotypes and inspire the next genera-
tion of women to choose to work in music production.
Targeted schemes which provide structured mentoring and networking
for women and other under-represented groups have been shown to be
effective in supporting career progression (Dasgupta and Stout 2014; Dob-
bin and Kalev 2016). Approximately 54% of women reported that access
to networking opportunities had a positive impact on their careers (Smith
et al. 2019), and 92% of mentored women felt that it had contributed to
their careers (Prior et al. 2019). Some great examples of current mentoring
schemes are those run by organizations such as She Is The Music (USA)
and the Equal Studio Residency Program for women run by Spotify (Spo-
tify 2018). Effective interventions must be supported and encouraged to
continue.
Recommendation: Continue effective interventions to support gender
equality at all levels.
Intentional Diversity
A code of best practice and policy on inclusion and diversity is a good first
step for organizations wishing to improve the gender balance in music
production. However, policies are too often written and stay on the shelf,
little read, and never fully implemented in day-to-day operations.
A key recommendation from women in the US music industry surveyed
in 2019 is to increase the focus on diversity in the workplace: “Focusing
on increasing diversity through providing equal opportunity was the most
common recommendation from women about how to improve inclusion in
the music industry” (Prior et al. 2019)
241 Addressing Gender Equality in Music Production
We therefore urge all in music production to practice “intentional diver-
sity”. This means:
• Being open about the need for greater diversity in music production.
• Being honest about the current state of industry.
• Being realistic about the difficulties and challenges involved in chang-
ing cultures.
Establishing a safe space for discussion of issues around diversity and
inclusion is a key first step to making sure that minority voices are heard,
respected, and included in conversations about strategic change. Working
in this way means that the “double bind” that women are often the ones
left to fix gender equality (as discussed earlier) can be avoided.
Responsibility for delivering equality and diversity objectives should be
included in role descriptions of all staff, and a commitment to the equality
agenda must be an explicit expectation which is outlined in job adverts,
person specifications, and interview processes. Accordingly, effective
training programs should be included as part of continuing professional
development to support this key element of everyone’s role.
Diversity and inclusion needs to not only “be on the agenda”, but also,
importantly, it needs to be seen by all to be on the agenda, with those in
positions of power, influence, and leadership driving the fight for change.
A recent excellent example of intentional diversity is the BBC Research
and Development division policy on diversity in public speaking,
21
which
aligns with the BBC’s overarching diversity and inclusion policy, but also
gives more specific advice and recommendations for those working in
R&D on how to foster inclusion and be a part of positive change.
Of course, working to change the culture of any industry or workplace
is a huge task, and there is no silver bullet or one key intervention which
will see rapid results. Establishing a more inclusive space for all is hard
work, and all involved need to be honest about this challenge. With time
and sustained effort, the explicit task of being more inclusive will become
commonplace, and the focus will turn less on outreach and inclusion, and
instead to making sure that all those involved in the industry find it to be a
place where they feel they belong.
Recommendation: Be open, honest, and proactive in efforts to increase
diversity and inclusion.
Move From Outreach and Inclusion to Belonging
A number of campaigns are now embedding active gender diversity across
programs without explicitly targeting only females, often through diver-
sifying the image of engineering. The children’s Hello World magazine,
22
for example, which can be utilized by schools as part of outreach activi-
ties, is carefully edited and curated to make sure that diverse images are
used to break down stereotypes of computer science. To this end, it always
includes diverse images of representation of females in school with cross-
curricular contents, including projects which establish computing as an
242
Jude Brereton, et al.
interdisciplinary field which includes technology, art, making, computer
science, and STEM/STEAM education. It is freely available online and
has a global reach (Hello World 2019).
Extending this idea, Engineering UK’s “This is Engineering” cam-
paign
23
seeks to highlight that engineering is for all, and works to break
down outdated and stereotypical ideas about what engineering is and who
engineers are. Whilst one goal of the campaign is to attract females into
engineering, it has a broader remit to change the stereotypical image of
engineering. By portraying diversity in all aspects, it hopes to encourage
representation across all traditionally under-represented groups.
A social-belonging intervention trialed at a US university engineering
program (Walton et al. 2015) improved academic grades by about 10%
for female students in this male-dominated discipline. This demonstrates
the importance of efforts to improve a sense of social belonging in music
production and related subjects beginning early in education. Social mar-
ginalization contributes to gender inequality not only in the workplace but
also in educational settings, and it is essential that interventions start there.
Recommendation: Encourage diversity in all forms.
Commitment to Diversity Supported Through Accreditation
Many UK Music Technology degrees are accredited by a relevant profes-
sional body, either the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) or
Joint Audio Media Education Support (JAMES)
24
. Neither of these bod-
ies makes any explicit reference to equality, diversity, inclusion, or issues
around widening access to the discipline.
A recent discussion document produced by David Ward (JAMES
founder and Executive Director) and Phil Harding (JAMES Vice Chair-
man) highlights the opportunity for music technology to be more fully
embedded in the school curriculum; one of the key considerations here
is not only a diversity of musical genre, but also diversity of those
involved in making and teaching music with technology: “This could
dispel the outdated notion that only boys are interested in technology
and sciences, as an example, as well as the lack of music education in
deprived areas”.
25
Recommendation: Professional bodies who accredit music technology
degrees should include diversity and inclusion considerations as part of
the accreditation criteria.
Education
A sense of belonging is established early in educational settings, with
female pupils feeling marginalized at a young age from engineering and
technology-based subjects (Colley et al. 1994; Cheryan et al. 2009; Arm-
strong 2011; Born and Devine 2015; Department for Education 2019). As
such, all those involved in audio/music technology education, at the pri-
mary, secondary, and tertiary levels, need to actively engage in the process
of change.
243 Addressing Gender Equality in Music Production
Strong Foundation of Gender Diversity for the
Next Generation
Addressing the gender imbalance in subjects studied at school will allow
us to harness the potential of music technology as an interdisciplinary
field (combining arts and science) to establish greater representation and
diversity of those coming into the music production industry in the future.
In 2015, Born and Devine argued that degree-level education in music
technology has the potential to produce graduates who are “equipped for
and can be inserted into a host of new technical and professional occupa-
tions in the burgeoning, intersecting fields of music, sound and audio, IT,
design, and the other media and arts” (Born and Devine 2015).
However, it is clear that those entrusted with education in music and
music technology in schools need to address the gendered expectations
and stereotypes around music technology and STEM education. As high-
lighted in our earlier section, many of the issues around representation at
all levels of the music industry are rooted in school and the factors which
drive female students away from participation in music technology.
We can only achieve this change through some dedicated partnership
working between those involved in school education, further and higher
education, working together with industry partners. Good practice on
gender equality has been established through the Gender Action Schools
Award,
26
which works to put gender equality at the heart of schools’ policy
and everyday practice, in order to challenge gender stereotyping.
Building on such initiatives but specifically focusing on music and
music technology would enable music production to benefit from the
experience of others working in this space, for example, school-industry
partnerships supported through the Women’s Engineering Society and the
Royal Academy of Engineering.
A new program has recently been announced, which will investigate
effective interventions in engaging female students in computer science at
GCSE and A Level, which is a joint initiative funded by the Department
for Education in England bringing a number of key partners together.
27
A similar joined-up dedicated campaign around music production/music
technology would ensure that the interdisciplinary nature of the subject
could be understood and embraced by all: this would enable both schools
and the industry to break down inequalities, to inform students and teach-
ers about the numerous exciting and stimulating roles in the music indus-
try, and in turn helping to change the industry itself.
Recommendation: Formation of a national education-industry partner-
ship to promote gender equality in music technology.
Establish a Gender-Inclusive Curriculum for Music and
Music Technology
As yet there is little guidance for school teachers or those in further and
higher education (post-16 education) on how to ensure that music and
music technology teaching is inclusive. Recently published guidance on
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