Mike FletcherLIVE has underlined its commitment to eradicating misogyny in the live music industry, with a four-point strategic plan backed by all 15 member organisations.
The plan has been launched in response to the last UK Government’s rejection of the recommendations in the Misogyny in Music report from the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC), which was published in January 2024.
The Misogyny in Music report concluded that women in the music industry face limitations in opportunities, a lack of support, gender discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, and unequal pay. Additionally, the report highlighted that these issues are worsened for women confronting intersectional barriers, particularly racial discrimination.
LIVE’s ‘Statement of Commitment’ involves actively challenging sexist attitudes and behaviours, promoting gender equality, and providing support and opportunities for women and female-identifying Trans people in the industry.
The four key commitments to creating a safer, more inclusive environments for women in live music are:
- Benchmarking: Committed to collectively benchmarking female representatives at CEO, board, chair and executive level so that we can track progress year on year.
- Promote gender diversity and inclusivity: Encourage more female representation in all aspects of the music industry, recognising that trans women face increased marginalisation, discrimination and harassment and need support. This visibility will help challenge stereotypes, reduce phobias, tackle discrimination and reduce sexual harassment.
- Education and awareness: Undertake and/or provide training on gender equality, sexual harassment, responding to disclosure and unconscious bias to help create a safer and more inclusive environment within the live music industry.
- Establish zero-tolerance policies: There is zero tolerance for gender-based violence, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, discrimination, sexual harassment, abuse and disablism, and we will support further development of policies to establish an even more robust position.
“Following the publication of the Women And Equalities Committee’s Misogyny in Music report last year, we were disappointed that the then UK Government chose not to adopt its recommendations,” said Gaby Cartwright, head of partnerships at LIVE and chair of its Misogyny In Music Group. “While we will continue to challenge that decision, there is an urgent need to have a strategy in place to confront the serious issues faced by too many women working in the UK live music industry. To that end, we are pleased that, within our wider work on equity and inclusion, all 15 members of LIVE have made this commitment to eradicating misogyny from our industry.”