The Producer and Engineer Inclusion Initiative

Earlier this month,  the Recording Academy’s Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion announced the Producer and Engineer Inclusion Initiative. The new initiative will provide more opportunities for female producers and engineers within the music industry by focusing on an intentional hiring process.

Those who are responsible for the hiring and selecting process are being asked to make a conscious effort to consider at least two female candidates before committing to a hiring decision. In order to assist with this process, the Recording Academy has also created a webpage dedicated to helping identify working female producers and engineers. 

According to Recording Academy, the new initiative is the first attempt to improve the statistics reported by a  2018 USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study –  which reported that less than 5% of producers and engineers throughout popular music are women.

Tina Chen, Chair of the Recording Academy’s Diversity and Inclusion stated, “The music industry is at a crossroads and progress won’t happen on its own. There is no magic bullet to shift a status quo that has existed for centuries, but we see this initiative as an important step”. Many producers, labels, artists, etc., including Lady Gaga, John Legend, Shawn Mendes, P!NK, and, Carrie Underwood have signed onto the initiative and its commitment to diversity and inclusion.