A new report has highlighted that 63% of acts booked at UK music festivals are either male or all-male groups. Despite Glastonbury making history with more female headliners than male, there is still a significant lack of gender balance within the line-ups of major festivals. Data from the UK’s top ten festivals confirms that women are booked three times less than men on average.
Creamfields has been identified as one of the least representative festivals, with 80.9% of its line-up featuring male acts. Parklife closely follows with 76.5% male acts this year. Conversely, TRNSMT Festival has been praised for its comparatively fair 51.2% male / 31.7% female line-up percentages. Half of the festivals in the study had line-ups featuring 20% or fewer women, with just two festivals achieving greater than a 30% representation of women on their line-ups.
Peter Fealey, the founder of report author A2D2, explained, “It’s 2024, and it’s disappointing to see such an imbalance… there’s a wealth of incredible female talent out there, and festival lineups should reflect the diversity of the music scene. From my years of experience working as a sound engineer, it’s also sad to see so few females in the crew as well.” The full report can be read here.
It’s worth noting that progress is being made towards greater gender equality in festival line-ups, but it is a slow process. Until gender balance is achieved, the industry and fans need to continue to shine a light on the issue and the need for change.
This report is a reminder for event organisers to look at their booking policies and strive to offer their audiences the chance to experience diverse and inclusive festivals and events. As the demand for and the expectation of inclusivity and diversity continues to grow, diverse line-ups must become the norm rather than an afterthought
Read the full article from Mixmag here: Read More