Soapbox: Elkae - On We've Only Just Begun and gender imbalance in the music industry

We’ve come along way, but we’ve still got a long way to go. We’re all aware of the gender imbalance in the music industry – it’s a topic that’s being discussed more and more lately, which signifies major progress. As part of the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initative, Primavera Sound announced a 50/50 gender-balanced line-up this year, and many more festivals are pledging to achieve the same result by 2022. This is a great improvement, considering that male artists made up 80% of festival line-ups in the UK last year.

It’s safe to say that we’ve all felt the effects of gender imbalance. For example, one of my friends who runs events told me that she’s had to dress in a more androgynous fashion in order to hold a higher level of authority. A female sound engineer also told me that she has to work harder than her male friends in order to gain the same respect and trust. I myself am a female artist, songwriter and producer. I have a female drummer and a female manager. Yet, when I’m talking about producing, or about my drummer or manager, people’s natural response is to reference a male. We’ve not yet established a strong enough representation in this industry for general conversations to be met with a response using gender neutral pronouns.

This is why it’s important to highlight the female-focused organisations in the music industry. Mnásome, IMC’s BAN BAM night for women in jazz, and She Said So aren’t only focusing on creating more space for women in festivals and gigs – they’re creating a community and building a tangible network of women in the industry, allowing us to actively support each other. She Said So runs workshops where you can really feel a sense of unity, support, confidence and strength in numbers. It’s vital that we get rid of the “I need to be better than her” mindset, and focus more on giving each other a hand up.

I also love the idea behind We’ve Only Just Begun. It’s an all-female festival, but it’s not marketed as “female fronted”. It’s more of an after-thought: you look at the line-up and appreciate it as a great line-up, and afterwards realise it’s all-female. It removes the assumption that “she’s only on the line-up because she’s a girl.” No – she’s on the line-up because she’s good!

In an industry that can be full of let-downs and rejection, closed doors and tough competition, let’s hold the door open for our fellow female members, make more space and create a community of inclusion and support. In doing so, we can encourage more women in the music industry to stand out and stand together – and eventually take over the world! The music world is wonderful and tough, but if you’ve got your girls with you... it makes it a hell of a lot easier!

• Elkae is an electronic soul artist. We’ve Only Just Begun runs at Whelan’s, Dublin August 9-11