Supporting gender diversity and inclusion (for freelancers)

A free training seminar tailored to audio industry freelancers, offering practical advice on supporting gender diversity and inclusion.

This online training session is open to all self-employed people, including recording studio owners and sound engineers, who would like to support gender equity in their workplace. Perhaps you are not sure where to start or how you can make a difference – this session can help!

It’s no secret what – or who – is missing from the audio industry. From studio producers and hardware designers, to AV technicians and sound engineers, most roles are still occupied by men. In fact, a 2016 survey by the worldwide Audio Engineering Society found that just seven percent of its members who reported their gender were women.

This statistic reflects Yorkshire Sound Women Network’s own findings closer to home. In our Volume Up! report (2018), we found that around seven in 10 of the Yorkshire-based recording studios we surveyed have only men working there. Just one in eight of the studios includes any woman engineers or producers. Where women are employed by studios, we found that their roles more commonly include studio management, marketing and instrumental/vocal tuition.

At this critical point for the creative industries, YSWN believes it’s important that recent work to progress gender equity is not rowed back by the coronavirus pandemic: “…women’s workplace equality will have been set back decades by this crisis…It’s taken us 20 years to get this far on female participation in the workforce, but it could take only months to unravel.” (Fawcett Society, quoted in The Guardian).

We know from published research (The Impact of COVID-19 on Women, UN Policy Brief, April 2020) and from our own consultation that women have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic – shouldering a greater share of childcare and home-schooling responsibilities, being more likely to lose income and having less time for creative work.

Facilitated by YSWN Associates Sarah Hutton and Sophie Cooper, this training will offer insights into different kinds of unconscious bias, highlight examples of gender discrimination within the audio industry and discuss practical approaches to creating a more inclusive workplace for the benefit of you and your business – looking at different areas including recruitment, pay, progression opportunities, workplace culture and marketing. By the end of the session you will have created your own Action Plan for change.

This is a pilot training session offered by YSWN. There is no charge for participating and attendees will be asked to provide feedback regarding the session.

If you represent a larger organisation and would like to talk to YSWN about setting up tailored training, please get in touch with us at info@yorkshiresoundwomen.com.

The seminar will take place via Zoom; attendees will receive a private link through the email used for booking in advance of the event. Limited places available – booking via Eventbrite (20 spaces): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/supporting-gender-diversity-and-inclusion-for-audio-industry-freelancers-tickets-125011269071

Facilitators
Sarah Hutton
Sarah has spent 30 years in the business sector of the music industry. For 21 of those years she taught future musicians and music technology students at Kirklees College about the music business, covering a wide area of the industry including career development. Sarah’s areas of expertise are the record industry, music publishing, artist management, contracts, copyright and rights, marketing and promotion, event management and artist/band business development. She currently works as a music business consultant, mentor and trainer.

Sophie Cooper
Sophie Cooper is a musician, composer, curator, music teacher and creative project manager based in West Yorkshire. Sophie has been involved in the UK underground music scene for almost 18 years through performance and promotion of DIY events. She is the co-director of Tor Festival in Todmorden and leads on learning activities at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Sophie is passionate about new music, artist development and providing musical opportunities for all.

For more information visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/supporting-gender-diversity-and-inclusion-for-audio-industry-freelancers-tickets-125011269071