The Beat Lives On: Women in music


Art piece of a record player with lightning bolts around it.
Women have been making significant strides in the music industry throughout history despite being outnumbered. Sara Alvarado | Daily Trojan.

Despite numbers improving in recent years, representation of women both in the recording studio and behind the scenes of the music industry is still falling behind. From artists to executives to industry professionals, the business is still overwhelmingly dominated by men, as much of the rest of the entertainment industry today. 

Although celebrities and musicians such as Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Cardi B often dominate the public discourse surrounding pop culture, it remains clear — despite what others might think — that women play a smaller role year after year in the music industry.

With this in mind, according to the most recent study on inclusion in the recording studio conducted by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, women are still missing in much of popular music. 

In 2020 alone, the prevalence of women artists across 900 songs stood at a mere 20.2% — down 2.3% from the previous year. Equally shocking, the ratio of men to women producers is 38 to 1. And again, the numbers are low for women who work as songwriters, standing at a mere 12.9% in 2020. These stats represent just a small fraction of the categories where women are missing in the music industry. 

It’s no secret that the gender gap has always been a point of tension among those in the music industry and for major music awards ceremonies alike. The Recording Academy, for example, does not lack allegations of systemic sexism and voting irregularities. 

From 2013 to 2021, 13.4% of Grammy nominees were women and 86.6% were men. Let that sink in. As a woman, seeing these statistics is disappointing but, sadly, unsurprising. 

Since the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards were held just two weeks ago, let’s reflect on where the awards ceremony stands and if the goals of the Recording Academy line up more today with the statements they’ve made regarding representation than they did in the past. 

To start, rewind three years to 2018 when the #GrammySoMale hashtag began trending on social media to call out the problematic ceremony for its lack of gender diversity after only one woman received a major award. 

What’s worse is what Neil Portnow, the Recording Academy President at the time, said after the fact. When asked by Variety about the recent trending hashtag, he responded that women need to “step up,” which, as to be expected, further aggravated the already-fervent social media uproar. 

Frustration from many stemmed from multiple factors but primarily from the fact that women have been “stepping up” for years yet haven’t been recognized in the same way men have. Women continue to be trailblazers, making significant strides in the music business while inspiring a new generation of aspiring women executives and artists and demanding equality while creating ground-breaking sounds. 

As the eclectic Icelandic singer-songwriter and 15-time Grammy nominee, Björk once said, “I want to support young girls who are in their twenties now and tell them, ‘You’re not just imagining things.’ It’s tough. Everything that a guy says once, you have to say five times.”

Women are tired of not being taken seriously, and Björk is just one of many successful artists who have experienced and observed sexism in the music industry. 

Since the #GrammySoMale debacle, the academy has begun pushing diversity and inclusion efforts. Though this year’s Grammys looked a little different from most, multiple women made history and broke grounds. 

Beyoncé became the most-awarded woman in Grammy history, bringing in her 28th win for best R&B performance for “Black Parade.” Taylor Swift became the first female artist to win Album Of The Year on three separate occasions. Fiona Apple won her first award in the last 24 years despite being nominated several times in previous years. The list continues. 

Thus, as Women’s History Month comes to a close, let’s take a moment to celebrate the many achievements of women in the music industry, both now and in honor of those who came before. 

“Like a Prayer” singer Madonna changed the game in the ’80s, pushing the envelope with her continuous reinvention of self and music messages, paving the way for many female artists to do the same. 

Ella Fitzgerald broke through many barriers in the ’60s as a woman of color during the civil rights movement. She also went on to become the first woman to receive multiple Grammy awards.

Infamous “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” soul singer Aretha Franklin was the first woman out of the now 44 to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Increasing the representation of women in the music industry isn’t about overrunning the men in the business; it’s about balancing out the current disparity and creating equal opportunities for both men and women.

There’s this old saying that came to my mind while writing this week’s column: “practice what you preach.” If labels, awards ceremonies, companies and different divisions of the music business preach statements of inclusion, diversity and equality then they must also hold themselves accountable for their words and make strides to improve their actions. 

I hope to one day see the business become a more inclusive and diverse environment. 

The music industry still has a long way to go and though we still await change, there will come a day. 

Emily Sagen is a senior writing about music’s lasting impact. She is also an arts & entertainment editor at the Daily Trojan. Her column, “The Beat Lives On,” runs every other Friday.