Long regarded as the most prestigious of the global music awards, The Grammys have come under fire for their noticeable lack of gender equality in nominations and awards.
In a report done by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, it was found that only 9.3% of nominees from the 2013 to 2018 Grammy Awards were female.
The latest research suggests that behind words of support for the inclusion of more women in music and acknowledgement of their contribution, very little action is taking place when it comes to The Grammys.
In response to the research the Recording Academy who represent the awards commented “When we read the headlines, ‘Only 9 percent of Grammy nominees are women,’ we were troubled… Could we really be that far behind the rest of the industry?”
“The Recording Academy Board takes gender parity and inclusion very seriously. We are establishing a task force to review every aspect of what we do to ensure that our commitment to diversity is reflected in our organisation and community.”
The Recording Academy acknowledged that their numbers in female representation could have been higher in all categories, particularly those in lesser publicised fields of classical music and composition. For all the glitz and the glamour, there are some cold hard truths that come out of audits like this and hopefully it has spurred the organisation to come up with further solutions.
In a closing statement in response to the report’s subsequent clamour, representatives stated; “The gender composition of our membership and nominations reflect that of the music community, according to the study.”
“But it’s not enough to reflect the community. We must be leaders in moving our industry toward greater inclusion and representation. Women are 50 percent of our world. We need their voice and presence at every level.”
Via Rolling Stone.
