In music, women are still paid less than men – Libération

2024-10-23 10:03:00

A report from the National Music Center reveals significant pay inequalities among industry professionals. For good reason, female artists and technicians struggle to climb the ladder in a very masculine world.

It’s the eternal refrain. Women earn less than men and the music world is no exception. Whether they are singers, musicians or technicians, female professionals in the industry are at a disadvantage compared to their male peers, she reveals a study by the CNM (National Center of Music) published on October 17th. With fixed-term contracts, in 2023 they received almost 3,000 euros less than men. The gap widens considerably for permanent contracts, with a difference of over 7,900 euros. It’s the same story for intermittent artists, as their compensation is 10.5% lower than that of their peers.

“Men who are my age and have similar careers have nicer homes than me,” declares Karine Huet, professional musician and deputy general secretary of SNAM-CGT (National Union of Musical Artists). “We don’t have the same heritage at all. They have better professional development, while women are interrupted by motherhood, suffer from ageism… They also have less funding, are less rewarded, have less notoriety. which inevitably reduces their income.

Women absent from the scene

In the music industry, as everywhere else, the best-paid positions are largely occupied by men. Women are in the minority in musical direction (12%) and in composition (7%), indicates the Observatory on inequalities in a report released in March. Furthermore, no woman is the head of a national music creation center (there are eight in France).

Gender inequalities

In a studysociologist Myrtille Picaud also mentions the low presence of women in artistic programming due to “the persistence of stereotyped representations” which leads to underestimating the talent of female artists. For his research he examined 24 Parisian clubs and noticed that female artists occupied only 10% of the programming. There is therefore less compensation, and therefore less income, for these singers or musicians, who are generally intermittent.

Motherhood also widens the wage gap for the latter, linked to a precarious regime. “When a woman announces that she is pregnant, she can lose contracts, because no one wants to take risks,” this is testified by Amandine Thiriet, actress, singer and president of the Matteminte collective which supports mothers with this status. “A young pregnant technician told us that her male colleagues had assured her that, although she was early in her pregnancy, she would no longer be able to work adequately in her condition. Her employer subsequently never mentioned her again.»

Forced equality?

What solutions can be found to eliminate these gaps? Questioned on this issue last April by deputiesthe Ministry of Culture had assured that it was particularly necessary to address “to the causes that generate them”, AS “promote women’s access to high positions and their self-confidence”. Karine Huet (SNAM-CGT) insists on the necessity “condition aid to structures” to equality in the recruitment of artists.

“Our union also calls for the creation of an equality index in live entertainment, to encourage companies to integrate women: the most egalitarian structures could receive funding bonuses.” It will also be necessary to deconstruct sexist prejudices in this sector “a jungle, without human resources, where male co-optation reigns”.