Half of women in music have experienced discrimination, says new report

nme.com:

Women Musicians Insight Report was based on the responses of 2,526 musicians who identified as women in the Musicians’ Census, which was conducted by the Musicians’ Union and the charity Help Musicians in association with Women In CTRL.It found that women experience much higher levels of discrimination, sexual harassment, financial issues and structural barriers to career progression and also sheds light on the gender pay gap in the music industry.

It also concludes that women often have shorter careers than their male peers, despite on average being more highly trained and educated.A third of women were found to have experienced sexual harassment while working as a musician, while a further quarter had witnessed it happening to others.

This was shown to have a detrimental effect on their careers, with women making up 62 per cent of respondents who said work-related abuse or harassment held them back in their career progression as well as 60 per cent of those who said discrimination was a barrier for them.In addition, the average annual income for a female musician was found to be £19,850, almost 10 per cent less than that for a man, which was £21,750.

Women also make up just under a fifth of musicians who said they earned over £70,000 from music per year.As such, women also report facing more financial issues, with 27 per cent of female musicians saying that they don’t earn enough to support themselves and their family compared to 20 per cent of male musicians.Women’s visibility in music was also found to decrease with age.