On the back of International Women’s Day, UK charity Sound and Music has announced its commitment to equality in the new music arena. Chief executive Susanna Eastburn has set the target that by 2020 at least 50% of the composers Sound and Music works with will identify as women.
Throughout next week Sound and Music will open up its social media platforms to female composers, allowing them to share their ‘personal challenges, hopes and advice’. The charity will release and exclusive playlist and a live video to support the campaign.
Sound and Music says it hopes to tackle ‘negative attitudes towards women in the sector, the decrease of young women’s engagement in the industry’ as well as create active work to find and fund quality creations from men and women equally.
The programme will be backed up by data from the British Music Collection and its own research, giving statistical weight to its call for action on female underrepresentation.
Follow the conversation on social media with the #SoundAndWomen and #5050by2020 hashtags. International Women’s Day is on 8 March.