Only 2-5% of music producers are women. That's not a pipeline problem — it's a systemic one. Here's what's happening, who's changing it, and what needs to shift.
TL;DR
The lack of women in music production isn't about talent or interest — it's about access, representation, and industry culture. Initiatives like shesaid.so, Girls I Rate, and EqualiseHer are creating pathways, but fundamental change requires men in the industry to actively create space and challenge exclusion.
The Numbers Paint a Clear Picture
USC Annenberg's annual Inclusion Initiative consistently finds that women comprise roughly 2-5% of producers and 12-15% of songwriters on hit songs. In the UK, the figures are similarly stark. These aren't natural distributions of talent — they're the result of systemic barriers, cultural gatekeeping, and an industry that has historically been built by and for men.
The consequences extend beyond fairness. When production rooms lack diversity, the music they produce lacks diversity too. The sonic palette of popular music is narrower than it needs to be because the people making creative decisions come from overwhelmingly similar backgrounds.
The good news: the numbers are slowly improving, driven by organisations, initiatives, and individual women who are refusing to accept the status quo. But 'slowly' isn't fast enough, and awareness without action is performative.
What Creates the Gap
The gap begins early. Music technology education is often marketed toward boys, and the culture of production spaces — from music tech classrooms to professional studios — frequently defaults to masculine norms that make women and non-binary people feel unwelcome or invisible.
Mentorship networks in production have traditionally been male-dominated, and the informal 'who you know' culture of studio booking and industry networking systematically disadvantages people outside those networks. A young woman interested in production is less likely to see people who look like her in the role, less likely to be mentored by someone who understands her experience, and more likely to encounter discouraging behaviour.
The freelance, late-night, and isolated nature of studio work creates practical barriers too. Sessions that run until 4am in male-dominated environments present safety and comfort concerns that men rarely have to consider. Until the working culture of production adapts, these practical barriers will continue to deter talented women from pursuing production careers.
The Organisations and People Making Change
shesaid.so is a global community of women and gender minorities in music, providing networking, mentorship, and advocacy. Their events, workshops, and online community create the kind of support network that historically existed only for men in the industry.
Girls I Rate, founded by Carla Marie Williams, champions women in the UK music industry through workshops, networking events, and industry partnerships. Their production workshops specifically address the pipeline issue by giving women hands-on experience with production tools in supportive environments.
EqualiseHer focuses specifically on gender equality behind the mixing desk, providing mentorship, studio access, and professional development for women and non-binary people pursuing production and engineering careers. Their work directly addresses the practical barriers — access to studios, mentorship, and professional networks — that maintain the gender gap.
These organisations are doing essential work, but they shouldn't bear the burden alone. The responsibility for gender equality in production lies with the entire industry, particularly with the men who currently dominate it.
What Male Producers and Industry Professionals Can Do
Actively create space. When hiring or recommending producers, engineers, or musicians, actively include women in your consideration. Challenge yourself to look beyond your existing network, which likely skews male due to historical industry demographics.
Mentor women who are interested in production. Share your knowledge, open your studio, introduce them to your network. The informal mentorship that young male producers receive naturally — through male friendships, male-dominated online communities, and male industry contacts — needs to be consciously extended to women.
Call out exclusionary behaviour when you see it. The sexist comment in the studio, the dismissive attitude toward a female engineer, the assumption that a woman in the control room is the artist's girlfriend rather than the producer — these microaggressions accumulate and drive women out of production spaces. Silence is complicity.
Examine your own biases honestly. If you've never worked with a female producer, ask yourself why. If your production community is entirely male, ask what barriers might be preventing women from entering. Self-reflection is the prerequisite for meaningful change.
The Future We're Working Toward
A music industry where production talent is recognised and supported regardless of gender isn't a utopian fantasy — it's an achievable goal that benefits everyone. More diverse production rooms produce more diverse, more interesting, more innovative music. The commercial and cultural case for gender equality in production is overwhelming.
The path forward requires simultaneous action at every level: education (inspiring girls into music technology), access (providing studio spaces and mentorship), culture (challenging the norms that make production spaces unwelcoming), and accountability (tracking and publishing diversity data, setting targets, and holding organisations responsible).
At Noise, we commit to featuring women producers and engineers in our content, providing platform and visibility to underrepresented voices in production, and holding ourselves and the industry accountable to meaningful progress. The gender gap in production isn't inevitable — it's constructed, and what's constructed can be deconstructed.