Barriers to Gender Equality in Live Music Events

As part of my Master’s dissertation, Exploring Attitudes Towards Women Working Within Music Events: Barriers to Gender Equality in Rock Music, I investigated the experiences of women in non-performance roles within the live music sector. While much existing research focuses on performers, this study shifted attention to the women behind the scenes—event managers, promoters, tour managers, and production staff—whose work is essential but often overlooked.

Using qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and a focus group, the research explored how gendered perceptions, informal hiring practices, and male-dominated networks create persistent barriers to entry, progression, and recognition. The study also examined the replication of industry inequalities within music education, where a hidden curriculum reinforces masculine norms and marginalises female students.

Key themes included imposter syndrome, gendered language, limited access to mentorship, and the impact of parenthood on career sustainability. The findings highlighted how women navigate and resist these challenges, often relying on resilience and peer support, while also calling attention to how women themselves can internalise and perpetuate exclusionary practices.

This research contributes to a growing body of feminist scholarship in music and event studies and laid the foundation for my current PhD, which continues to explore gender, cultural labour, and scene participation in alternative music spaces.

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Understanding Gendered Barriers in Live Music Events

My Master’s dissertation, Exploring Attitudes Towards Women Working Within Music Events: Barriers to Gender Equality in Rock Music (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2022), examined the structural and cultural barriers faced by women working in non-performance roles within live music events. While studies often focus on performers (Leonard, 2016), my research aimed to shine a light on the behind-the-scenes workers—event managers, promoters, tour managers, and production staff—who are vital to the functioning of the music industry but often go unacknowledged in scholarly and industry discourse.

The research employed qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews and a focus group with nine women who identified as having professional experience in live rock music events. Participants were recruited from female-led online networks such as Women in Live Music and NOWIE. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014) allowed me to explore how gendered experiences were made sense of by individuals in their working lives.

Core Themes and Findings

1. Gender Bias and Cultural Stereotyping
Participants regularly described being subject to gendered assumptions, often being mistaken for girlfriends or groupies rather than professionals. This aligns with O’Brien’s (2016) findings that women in rock are often viewed through a lens of heterosexual fantasy or as adjuncts to male artists. Terms like “merch girl” or references to needing “a couple of lads for load-in” continue to mark jobs in gendered language, reinforcing cultural images of male competence and female support (Leonard, 2016; Ridgeway, 2011).

Some participants adapted by masculinising their behaviour or appearance to gain respect, echoing Leonard’s (2016) observation that women often feel pressured to “act like men” in male-dominated spaces. These findings highlight how gender performativity (Butler, 1990) is actively negotiated in professional identity formation within live events.

2. Informal Access and Network Gatekeeping
The music industry’s reliance on informal hiring practices—what Gill (2002) calls the “myth of meritocracy”—was identified as a significant barrier. Participants reported exclusion from male-dominated networks where job opportunities were circulated. As Wittel (2001) and Taylor & O’Brien (2017) note, informality and social capital are central to employment within the creative industries, disadvantaging those who are not already embedded in these circuits.

Women with caring responsibilities faced additional barriers, lacking flexibility and time for out-of-hours networking. This aligns with findings by Edmond and McGowan (2017) and Leonard (2014), who argue that gendered expectations around childcare compound the impact of freelance, precarious creative work.

3. Mentorship and the Hidden Curriculum
Participants spoke of lacking access to mentors and role models, both in industry and education. Music education was shown to replicate industry gender hierarchies through a “hidden curriculum” (Giroux & Penna, 1979), which reinforced masculine norms and socialised students into accepting male dominance as normal (Lamb, Dolloff & Howe, 2002).

Women also reported being steered into administrative or “soft skill” roles—reflecting Mayer’s (2014) assertion that women’s labour is often devalued through assumptions of “natural” communication skills, rather than technical or creative aptitude.

4. Imposter Syndrome and Internalised Bias
Participants frequently identified imposter syndrome (Clance & Imes, 1978) as a factor limiting their confidence and progression. Some expressed guilt over the perception they had gained roles via appearance or friendliness, not skill—mirroring the internalisation of broader industry bias. Others admitted to judging younger women entering the field, suggesting that scarcity and pressure had sometimes led to the reproduction of exclusionary attitudes (Rothschild, 2014).

Carrie’s reflections in particular echoed Dashper’s (2013) findings about the emotional labour required in aesthetic labour environments, where women are evaluated on presentation as much as performance.

Conclusions and Implications

The dissertation concluded that gendered inequality in live music events is perpetuated by a combination of structural barriers and cultural expectations. Key conclusions included:

• Persistent gatekeeping via informal networks, where access is shaped by gendered social practices (Gill, 2002; Leonard, 2016).
• Educational reproduction of industry hierarchies through a hidden curriculum that centres masculinity and marginalises female students (Strong & Cuzzino, 2016; Bylica & Wright, 2021).
• The need for systemic change, including more formalised hiring, visibility of women in leadership, targeted mentorship, and intersectional awareness in workplace culture (O’Brien, 2016; De Klerk & Verreynne, 2017).

While some participants noted improvements in workplace culture, these were often attributed to age, seniority, or the ability to control one’s working environment—suggesting that real change remains inconsistent and individualised.

Ultimately, the study reinforced that gender inequality is not only an issue of representation, but one of power, access, and belonging. It contributes to feminist event and music studies by documenting how women negotiate, resist, and sometimes replicate gendered expectations in a male-dominated industry.