‘You are left flailing to try and look after yourself’: the music industry still constrains mothers’ careers

Thu, 5 Oct 2023 03:25:34 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/you-are-left-flailing-to-try-and-look-after-yourself-the-music-industry-still-constrains-mothers-careers-210978>

"Women participate in Australia’s music industries – as musicians and workers –
at rates well below men. On average, women receive less airplay on Australian
radio, less pay and less representation on music boards, awards and line-ups
than their male counterparts.

Understanding why women might leave their music careers and what could bring
them back is an important part of solving the puzzle to increase their
participation.

We recently conducted a study aimed at developing strategies to help women and
gender-non-conforming people in Victoria return to music work after a career
break.

One key finding – unsurprisingly – was that caring responsibilities and
parenthood were common reasons for women taking a break. These responsibilities
then create barriers to re-establishing careers and career progression in
music.

This, of course, is not unique to music work. Women take on the majority of
caring work for children. It means they take longer away from their careers,
and are more likely to return on a part-time basis. This leaves them at a
disadvantage compared to men who have had no career interruptions.

But there are particular circumstances in the music industry that create
complications and problems specific to this field, compounding the disadvantage
new parents face in any workplace and compounding the issues of insecure work
in music."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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