Sunday News

WHERE ARE ALL THE

R&A has more women managers than men but, writes Lorna Thornber, most festivals struggle with a gender-balanced lineup.

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A Kiwi music festival is bucking a global trend in employing more women then men, but its director says it’s still a challenge to create a gender-balanced lineup.

A 2019 study led by a team at Northweste­rn University in the United States found females are still grossly under-represente­d in the music industry, with men making up some 75 per cent of artists signed to record labels and releasing more songs.

Rhythm & Alps, on the other hand, is making sure its backroom staff are femaledomi­nated, with festival director Alex Turnbull saying more than half – 13 out of 22 – of its department heads are women.

‘‘The majority of the management structure is female-led and that’s because they’re the best people for the job,’’ said Turnbull.

‘‘Our team is better with female management in it. Women are often better than men at their jobs and can have a calming influence.’’

Women are also well represente­d in other areas of the company, including stage and event management, he said.

However, the three-day festival, which takes place in

Cardrona, hasn’t found it easy to secure a relatively equal number of men and women in its lineup, with about 22 per cent of acts featuring at least one female member.

Turnbull said he wasn’t sure how many of the 130 or so artists set to appear at the upcoming festival were female, but said the team ‘‘tried for a lot more’’.

‘‘Unfortunat­ely, some we approached weren’t available or were out of our budget.’’

The festival did secure UK reggae, hip hop and jungle MC Eva Lazarus, who will perform while pregnant, and New Zealand hip hop and soul legend

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