The ‘Equalising Music Pledge’ challenges each and every person in the music industry to do one significant thing for gender equality in 2019.
It has been announced that Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac has been appointed spearhead the Equalising Music Pledge run by Smirnoff.
Although tonight’s BRIT Awards is dominated by female artists, we still have a very long way to go in the wider music industry when it comes to gender parity.
The Equalising Music Pledge is the latest move by Smirnoff Equalising Music, a three-year, global, multi-million pound campaign to accelerate gender parity in the music industry.
Sam Salameh, Head of Smirnoff said: “Smirnoff set up Equalising in Music in 2017 because the music industry had been sidelining female talent for too long.
“So far we’ve raised awareness of unconscious bias towards female artists with Spotify, redressed the gender imbalance at festivals including Wireless, Lost Village and Snowbombing and empowered the next generation of female talent through a series of DJ and mentorship workshops.”
Equalising Music is calling on everyone in the music industry to take direct action on gender equality, with Annie Mac challenging the industry at large to do one thing in 2019 to make music a more equal place through the Equalising Music Pledge.
Commenting on the launch, Annie Mac said: “Together we have the tools and the reach to make a real impact here in the UK. The music industry is still embarrassingly lopsided when it comes to gender parity.
We are all acutely aware of the enormous contribution women make to this business, and yet there’s still so much work to be done to ensure they’re embraced and championed, both in front of and behind the scenes.
She added: “Contributing towards trying to change this is something I personally feel passionately about, and I’m genuinely excited to see the future impact women of all ages will have on the unchartered territories of this rapidly changing industry.”
Annie Mac’s career as a globally renowned DJ and broadcaster for Radio 1. She presents a prime time weekday evening show on, while maintaining huge success as a live DJ in demand from headlining festivals to playing the world’s best clubs.
You can follow #EqualisingMusic on twitter for live updates on all of the artists joining the Equalising Music Pledge.
By Becky Lumbard
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