On Monday (24th May) Birds Eye View, the UK-based women’s film festival, curated a discussion of the question: “why are women underrepresented in the music industry?”.
The panel for Women Make Music at Kings Place in London was hosted by journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer. It reflected an interesting cross-section of women including Mira Calix, winner of the 2009 Composer of the Year and Royal Philharmonic Society Awards; Alison Goldfrapp, one half of the genre-defying group Goldfrapp; Janis Susskind, director of composers and repertoire at publishers Boosey & Hawkes; DIY pop queen Kate Nash and the Oscar-winning film composer, Rachel Portman.
Sawyer opened the debate by revealing some concerning statistics. A recent Performing Rights Society (PRS) study found that women make up 15% of composers in mainstream music, and an even more galling 5% in the classical world. When asked why this was, the panellists offered up compelling reasons.
History
Susskind pointed to the foundations of our past: “For centuries, men have dominated the world of classical composition resulting in a lack of female role models for young women. Even today, musicians play the work of a few white men who lived centuries ago”. Historically, men have been positioned as creative risk-takers; as artistic revolutionaries who possess an innate, unbridled passion that is lacking from the female sensibility. As Calix pointed out, “how often do we hear of a woman being described as a genius? Hardly ever, if it all”.
In the audience there was a consensus that it was this lack of role models for women that formed a barrier, preventing the much-needed confidence to pursue a career in music. Across all genres, history offers up countless male musicians who dominate their sector. As Goldfrapp suggested, “In rock and roll, it’s all about the mythical god-like bloke. It can be very difficult for women to try and fit themselves into that role”.
This doesn’t align women as frail, vulnerable types: women can wail until their gums bleed as much as the next man. But, despite movements like the Riot Grrrl scene of the early nineties which rejected punk-rock’s macho exclusivity, this sense of empowerment hasn’t filtered into mainstream consciousness. The traditionally male-gendered traits of stubbornness and determination – so important for a career in music – is still, for many women, felt as taboo.
Whether it’s bravado or talent, it seems women are repeatedly seen to have neither. When Sawyer asked why women are frequently mistaken as solely the performer – the aesthetic front – of a band, Nash argued it was a classic case of sexism and ignorance, “In interviews, journalists are still surprised that I write my own music and that I’m the composer and lyricist of all my work. They think because I’m a young female I must have someone else doing it for me, which is very frustrating”. Inevitably, this lead on to the age-old issue of appearance.
Looks matter
While musicians like Keith Richards and Nick Cave are celebrated for their weather-beaten chops and thinning hair, women are seen as sexually ‘past it’ and unexciting anywhere north of 40. “If you flick through Wire or Mojo, you’ll always find a photo of a bloke who’s just crawled off the tour bus”, laughs Calix. “You’ll never see a woman looking like that!”. This may seem like a hackneyed point, but it might go some way to explaining why the number of female musicians is lacking: past a certain age, they get the proverbial axe.
Despite the frustrations felt by musicians at this gender gap, the debate revealed a change in the way women are now approaching music. At the end of the talk, a music teacher in the audience stood up and spoke of the abundance of young women who filled his music classes, hoping to become musicians. One can only hope that they become the future creators of some inspiring and ground-breaking work. No doubt they will.
Pics from BEV: Sawyer & Nash, the audience!, Susskind & Sawyer