Women In CTRL ‘Seat at the Table’ report finds women still underrepresented in music industry trade bodies

28 July 2021

A year on from the its inaugural report, Women In CTRL’s second Seat at the Table study has found that while female representation has increased slightly across 12 key music industry organisations, women are still woefully underrepresented.

Women In CTRL is a not-for-profit whose aim is to empower women in the entertainment industries.

The new Seat at the Table 20201 report found that 42% of board members across 12 industry organisations in 2021 are women, compared to 34% in 2020. There has also been a slight rise in the number of Chairs who are women, with three female Chairs across these organisations in 2021, compared to just one in 2020. The number of female CEOs remains unchanged.

The share of board seats held by Black women has doubled, albeit from a very low base, going up from five in 2020 to 11 in 2021. There are still no Black women CEOs or Chairs.

The analysis was carried out across 12 key industry organisations: AIM (Association of Independent Music), BPI (British Phonographic Industry), FAC (Featured Artists Coalition), ISM (Incorporated Society of Musicians), The Ivors Academy, MMF (Music Managers Forum), MPA (Music Publishers Association), MPG (Music Producers Guild), Music Venue Trust, PPL (Phonographic Performance Ltd), PRS for Music and UK Music.

For the report, Women in CTRL also asked 100 women across the industry to share their thoughts on the topic. Insights from a wide range of industry experts – including Motown UK/EMI Marketing Director Afryea Henry-Fontaine, Attitude is Everything Founder Suzanne Bull MBE, and Deputy General Secretary at the Musicians’ Union Naomi Pohl – are included within the report.

Last year, Women in CTRL published its WIC Diversity Pledge asking all 12 organisations to commit to working towards an equitable, diverse and inclusive future.

“I commend those organisations that have taken steps towards real change, and it’s promising to see,” said Nadia Khan, Women in CTRL Founder and Chair of AIM. “But our work is far from done, the stats are still stark, and a far way off true equality. True diversity goes beyond female representation to minority groups, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation and education. Let’s try to fix the system and have real conversations. What is it about the system that doesn’t allow underrepresented groups to reach the top? Why don’t we see more women in Chair or CEO positions? Let’s identify the barriers and work together to break them down.”

Several of the organisations involved have already reached key milestones on the journey to a more diverse and inclusive industry, while PPL has teamed up with Women in CTRL to launch a Board development programme in August. This will include five sessions that cover topics aimed at helping attendees get a ‘Seat at the Table’, such as understanding boards, canvassing votes, and promoting themselves.

PPL CEO Peter Leathem said: “Last year’s Seat at the Table report showed we could do much better and we would like to say thank you to Nadia for contributing to the positive steps we have made since then and for asking us to support and work with her on this second edition. The gender and racial diversity of our board has increased, and we continue to consider and work on the overall diversity of our Board and Senior Management Teams. Whilst we have made progress there is a lot more to be done so PPL welcomes the second edition of Seat At The Table.”