The music industry remains a male dominated industry. Although the dominance of female artists are evident through charts, the success of a few high-profile women does not reflect the broader reality for most women working in music. Due to systemic barriers, the majority of women in the industry continue to face significant challenges in gaining recognition, access, and leadership opportunities. These barriers are especially pronounced in roles that shape the creative and technical foundation–such as production, sound engineering, and executive decision-making; where women remain vastly underrepresented.
In Canada, for instance, women make up only one-third of the music workforce, and only 12.6 per cent are songwriters and three per cent are producers–figures that mirror global trends. Women often face limited access to mentorship, fewer net-working opportunities, and biases that undermine their authority and creative contributions.
Meaghan Bender (via @meaghanbender on Instagram / photographed by @innatsnature on Instagram)
Meaghan Bender, a singer-songwriter and Fanshawe Music Industry Arts alumni, explains her struggle with being taken seriously in professional settings.
“Like specifically, I remember in like a lot of band practices or recording sessions. It’s like if I would have an idea and I would share it, it would either be like dismissed right off the bat. Or, you know, like a man would like say it like five minutes later and then like everyone’s like, oh, yeah, like perfect. That’s great. Like there’s definitely a lot of like small things like micro-aggressions kind of things like that.”
In addition to gender-based discrimination, for women from marginalized communities, the barriers are much more difficult to break through. The intersecting challenges can make it harder to find collaborators who understand their vision, mentors who share their lived experience, and platforms that celebrate their work authentically.
Konejo Girum of Lua Sol (via @konejooo on Instagram)
Konejo Girum, lead vocalist of local band Lua Sol, describes how her cultural heritage influences her creative process. “I think it’s really cool because I am Ethiopian. So I love to take the the vocal inflections that Ethiopian artists do and try to incorporate that as well into the music that we do in our band,” she says.
Lua Sol (via @luasolband on Instagram / photographed by @caseywalkerphotography)
“And then also like our our band is very culturally diverse, like Raquel is Latina. So I’m singing in Spanish and I’m like, OK, cool. This is also awesome, like taking the experience of all women of colour in our world, the two women of colour in our band and letting that shine as well.”
Despite the persistent barriers, women in music–especially those from marginalized communities–continue to reshape the industry with resilience.
“I feel like there’s still like a systemic oppression of women that is in place. And I think that until we break down all those barriers and start like really making space for women and for women’s creativity and ideas, I think, unfortunately, it is going to be like that,” says Bender.
“Like I feel like there’s a lot of change that needs to be made on a global scale that needs to happen for like women to be more incorporated in not just this industry, but like other male dominated industries as well. Like, I think that it’s also just really hard for women to feel safe in these spaces right now.” she added.
Grrrls Jam at Poacher’s Arms (via @grrrlsjam on Instagram)
Organizations like Women in Music Canada and Make it Music 2025, and local initiatives like Grrrls Jam are helping lead this shift by providing a platform for women and gender-diverse artists and musicians to thrive. Alongside the ongoing initiatives, artists such as Meaghan Bender and Konejo Girum continuing to advocate for their art; a stance that extends beyond personal expression, turning into empowerment.
Ultimately, the fight for equality in the music industry comes with a demand for systematic change; not just recognition or acknowledgement. It requires dismantling ideologies that have long excluded women from creative control and leadership and making more opportunities and allowing resources to be more accessible.
