Music Festival Lineups Still Fail to Equalize the Gender Gap.

Women continue to lack representation in most areas of the music industry. Glastonbury, a music festival in England, received pushback after announcing three male headliners for 2023. However, Glastonbury is not the only festival to lack of gender equality in it’s line-up.

Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice performing in Spain in November.

Photograph: Javier Bragado/Redferns

In 2022, a BBC report found that only 13% of UK headliners at the top 50 festivals were female.

To counter the forces of inequality, festivals hold the responsibility to aim for a 50/50 gender balance in lower lineups. This would allow more female artists have a shot to rise up the ranks. 

Every section of the music industry has a responsibility to fulfill.

As researcher Vick Bain states: “We need hundreds of festivals out there doing the work, being more committed and proactive, starting with the smaller stages and then actively working with agents to pick out the talent, develop it and give them the opportunities. Talent agents will ask the labels for more female musicians and the record labels will go out and look for that talent and invest in them.”