In her acceptance speech for best pop vocal album at the 68th Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga highlighted the challenges women face in recording studios. “It can be hard,” she said, urging women to trust themselves and fight to be heard as producers, placing the responsibility for equality squarely on women’s shoulders.
Female superstars, both established and emerging, were highly visible during the broadcast, which appeared to present gender balance on screen. However, the awards, nominations and industry recognition tell a different story.
Working with my business partner, strategist Richard Addy, I analysed gender representation across all 95 Grammy categories this year. The findings show women and female bands experienced a sharp decline in wins compared with last year.
They secured less than a quarter of all Grammys (23%), a 14 percentage point fall from last year’s 37% and the lowest level since 2022.
The drop partly reflects declining recognition in nominations. Women accounted for under a third (28%) of nominations last year, but this year received just one in four (24%).
Despite Gaga’s call for women to take ownership as producers, progress remains minimal.
Since its introduction 51 years ago, no woman has won the Grammy for producer of the year, non-classical.
Last year, Alissia became only the tenth woman nominated in the category but lost to Daniel Nigro. This year, all five nominees were men.
High-profile wins by artists like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift often conceal male-dominated production structures.
For instance, Bad Bunny, this year’s album of the year, shares the honour with 12 male producers, songwriters and technicians who were not present on stage.
Although women maintain strong visibility during nominee announcements and ceremonies, their broader recognition remains limited.
Since 2017, men have received 76% of nominations and wins across all categories, while women have secured only one in five awards during the same period.
Research consistently shows that women’s marginalisation in the Grammys and the music industry stems from structural factors.
Despite the Recording Academy’s stated commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging, women remain underrepresented among voting members.
Female representation has increased from 21% in 2018 to 28% in 2024, but at this pace, gender parity may not be achieved until 2051.
This slow progress reflects the composition of voting members, 69% of whom are songwriters, composers, producers and engineers — roles where women remain most underrepresented.
The latest Inclusion in the Recording Studio report by the USC Annenberg Initiative found the ratio of male to female songwriters in Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts over 13 years stands at 6.2 to 1.
Our review of 67 academic studies and industry reports, compiled in The Missing Voices of Women in Music and Music News, identified persistent barriers including gender discrimination, sexual harassment, pay gaps, cultural exclusion and limited promotional opportunities.
The 2024 Midia consultancy report Be The Change: Gender Equity in Music, based on research across 133 countries, found 60% of women in the industry experienced sexual harassment, while one in five reported sexual assault.
The evidence suggests that talent and determination alone are insufficient. Without systemic change, women are unlikely to achieve parity in recognition at the Grammys or across major music awards.
The Conversation