Drawing upon the survey instruments of Lewis and Neville [1], Nadal [2], and Yang and Carroll [3], we conducted an online survey that captured experiences of discrimination and microaggressions reported by 387 recording engineers, producers, and studio assistants living in 46 different countries. Our statistical analyses reveal highly significant and systemic gender inequalities within the field, e.g., cisgender women experience many more sexually inappropriate comments (p < e-14, large effect size) and unwanted comments about their physical appearance (p < e-12, large effect size) than cisgender men, and they are much more likely to face challenges to their authority (p < e-13, large effect size) and expertise (p < e-10, large effect size). A comparison of our results with a study about women’s experiences of microaggressions within STEM academia [3] indicates that the recording studio workplace scores 33% worse on the silencing and marginalization of women, 33% worse on gender-related workplace microaggressions, and 24% worse on sexual objectification. These findings call for serious reflection on the part of the community to progress from awareness to collective action that will unlock the control room for women and other historically and systemically marginalized groups of studio professionals.

Authors: Brooks, Grace; Pras, Amandine; Elafros, Athena; Lockett, Monica
Affiliations: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), Montreal, Quebec; School of Information Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; Digital Audio Arts program, Department of Music, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta; Centre George Simmel, School of Advanced Research in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris, France; Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), Montreal, Quebec; Department of Sociology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta; Department of Sociology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta(See document for exact affiliation information.)
JAES Volume 69 Issue 4 pp. 238-260; April 2021
Publication Date: April 8, 2021

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