Who knew that a vodka I drank copiously throughout my past (oops) would years later put forth such an immensely important initiative to tackle the chronic lack of female representation in the electronic space. In the spirit of International Women's Day, Smirnoff has launched the "Equalizing Music" campaign, which aims to double the amount of female electronic headliners by 2020. By enlisting key players Spotify, iHeartRadio, THUMP, Broadly, Mixmag, and Insomniac/LiveNation, Smirnoff opens the door for women everywhere and members of their "Top 50 Women Making Noise" playlist to gain access to equal opportunities in the music sphere.
It's no surprise that a study done last year reported that only 17 percent of major festival headliners in 2016 were women. Smirnoff linked Chicago's own Marea Stamper or Black Madonna with Uganda's DJ Rachael in their accompanying documentary to deconstruct the notion that female DJs only make up 17 percent of the electronic music world. Rather, the documentary suggests that lack of opportunity for female artists is the true reason for this disparagement.
The "Equalizing Music" documentary premiered last night at Mixmag in New York City, with an artist Q&A and sets from Black Madonna, Julia Govor, and Cry Baby. It marks the beginning of a four-year push through the glass ceiling that shrouds female DJs in the boys' club of electronica, and couldn't be more necessary. Watch the documentary above.
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