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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Organizations working on Diversity and Inclusion in the Music and Audio Industry

Gender Amplified is a nonprofit organization that aims to celebrate Women in music production, raise their visibility and develop a pipeline for girls and young women to get involved behind the scenes as music producers. The movement also connects passion for music with technical skills that can be used in a wide range of scientific and arts-based fields, areas in which women are traditionally underrepresented.

Girls Rock Camp Alliance The Girls Rock Camp Alliance is an international membership network of youth-centered arts and social justice organizations.

The International Alliance for Women in Music  An international membership organization of women and men dedicated to fostering and encouraging the activities of women in music, particularly in the areas of musical activity such as composing, performing, and research in which gender discrimination is a historic and ongoing concern.

New York Women Composers, Inc. The mission of the New York Women Composers, Inc. is to create performing, recording, networking, and mentoring opportunities for its members, and to work for the betterment of all women concert-music composers. We believe that continually focusing attention on music by women composers will hasten its full inclusion in the concert repertoire.

Parity Productions is a producer of new theatrical work and ensures that they fill at least 50% of the creative roles on productions with women and trans and gender-nonconforming artists. Parity also actively helps promote other theatre companies that hire at the 50% Standard.

Production on Deck Uplifting underrepresented communities in the arts. Their main goal is to curate a set of resources to help amplify the visibility of (primarily) People of Color in the arts.

Roadies of Color United International Network open to all Professionals in the Entertainment Services, Concert Touring and Live Entertainment Industry. Our Social network was created to unite, network, promote, and collaborate in order to help each other Grow in our related Industries. Our goal is to unite our related industries in a way that has never been done before until now promoting more diversity and inclusion within our related industries.

SoundGirls US-based international organization, with chapters worldwide. SoundGirls mission is to empower the next generation of women in audio. They work to expand opportunities for women in these fields and to share resources and knowledge through cooperation, collaboration, and diversity.

Technicians for Change A grassroots organization in Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota with no paid staff, made up of technicians and designers in various fields of the entertainment industry. We volunteer our time and resources (including personal financial support) to build a stronger community.

The Arts Administrators of Color Network are advocates and continue to fight for equity in the arts through collaboration, forums, and outlets that provide a voice for arts administrators and artists of color where there may not be one.

The Black Theatre Network is comprised of artists, educators, scholars, students and theatre lovers who are dedicated to the exploration and preservation of the theatrical visions of the African Diaspora. For 30 years, the Black Theatre Network has collected, processed and distributed information that supports the professional and personal development of its membership (comprised of individuals engaged in the full range of theatre professions, professional and community theatres and

Wingspace Theatrical Design is committed to the cause of equity in the field.  There are significant barriers to accessing a career in theatrical design and we see inequalities of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability across the field.

Women in Music a non-profit organization with a mission to advance the awareness, equality, diversity, heritage, opportunities, and cultural aspects of women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment, and recognition. Our seminars, panels, showcases, achievement awards, and youth initiatives celebrate the female contribution to the music world and strengthen community ties.

Women Produce Music International An artist & producer-led non-profit org & network promoting & supporting the activities of music-makers, producers & engineers through a series of initiatives.

Women’s Audio Mission US San Francisco ‘the only professional recording studio in the world built and run by women – to attract over 1,500 underserved women and girls every year to STEM and creative technology studies that inspire them to amplify their voices and become the innovators of tomorrow. WAM’s award-winning curriculum weaves art and music with science, technology and computer programming and works to close the critical gender gap in creative technology careers.

 

The Financial Case for Increasing Diversity in Live Audio

Diversifying Your Portfolio

 

Increasing diversity in the workforce can be a divisive topic. As I covered in my last blog How to Find the Best Candidate for the Job, often the general consensus is simply that the best candidate should get the job, and a common response to discussions about diversity is that hiring someone because they are from an underrepresented group is unfair.

According to research, “if people believe that racism is no longer an issue in modern society, they also perceive affirmative action as unfair and hold negative attitudes towards affirmative action and organisations that endorse affirmative action, presumably because affirmative action is no longer deemed necessary” (1). Opposition to policies that enforce an increase in diversity, like quotas, is strongly linked to a false belief that society is purely meritocratic. For example, “a survey among Flemish politicians demonstrated that even a decade after gender quotas had been implemented in the political system, many men were still strongly opposed to them. This opposition was partly due to different explanations of the underrepresentation of women in politics. While most women stated that they felt women got fewer chances in politics, most men disagreed with this statement. In line with meritocratic beliefs, men believed that women were under-represented in politics because they didn’t fight hard enough for their positions, while the majority of women did not agree with this statement.”

Classing people according to identity politics makes me uneasy too. There is more to someone than their gender, colour of their skin, class, or sexuality. Unfortunately, there is population-level systemic discrimination throughout our society (2), including live audio, and pretending it doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away. Affirmative action seeks to acknowledge the barriers people may have faced before they reach the candidate shortlist, issues that may prevent them from getting the job and reasons they may not stay in the role or even the industry. As long as people’s lives are affected by these things, we need to talk about them. Luckily, although foisting diversity initiatives upon people usually results in push back and rarely helps matters, voluntarily and consciously looking to employ and encourage people from underrepresented groups does improve diversity (3).

Employers might not be interested in reaching out to minorities in their field solely because it’s the right thing to do, but there is a growing body of evidence that it affects their bottom line: profit. Most of the research I could find on workplace diversity focuses on gender (and even then, it is almost entirely in binary terms of men and women), I imagine because it is a relatively easy metric to keep track of and quantify, but the principles remain the same for other factors like race, economic background, sexuality and age. Here is an outline of why employers should want to seek out diverse candidates, according to science:

Increased diversity is good for business

I want to get one thing clear right from the outset: increasing diversity is not an act of charity. It’s a smart business investment. “Diversity is associated with increased sales revenue, more customers, greater market share, and greater relative profits” (4). A 2005 study by consultancy firm McKinsey (5) found that worldwide, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity within their executive team were 15% more likely to have higher than average financial returns, for racial diversity it was 35%. The opposite was true for the least diverse quartiles, showing that they were significantly worse off rather than simply unaffected. Far from needing to let your business take a hit in order to do the right thing, increasing diversity is correlated with increased profits, even after taking the cost of inclusion measures into account.

The main theories believed to be factored in this positive relationship are increasing the talent pool, improving decision making, increasing employee satisfaction and strengthening customer orientation (5). These all sound a bit “corporate” and not directly related to an industry as idiosyncratic as live audio, but they really are. We like to think we’re a special breed, so why wouldn’t we want to attract the best of the best? If you’re only hiring people who are like you, whether consciously or not, you’re missing out on a huge pool of talent. If someone just doesn’t feel that women are suited to audio, for example, they’re halving the number of potential candidates right from the off. Making your hiring practises as wide-reaching and open as possible maximises the probability that you’ll find your next star engineer.

Complementary skill sets

Improving decision-making is perhaps the most widely cited reason for diversity increasing performance (e.g. 6). Think of it this way; would you go to see a heist film where the motley crew of jewel thieves was exclusively made up of eight lock pickers? Not even a getaway driver? It’d be a pretty short movie if they didn’t have a surveillance expert to scope the bank out in the first place. The whole point is that each person brings a different and complementary set of skills to the job. The very definition of motley is something made up of different and seemingly incongruent parts. A workforce made up of as many different people, not just measured by gender or race but nearly any metric, will increase their combined knowledge pool and maximise innovation. Why do you think investors are obsessed with finding the next disruptor business which will completely change their sectors, like Netflix or Airbnb? Approaching things differently gives you a major competitive edge and can result in huge profits. Teams made up of different backgrounds are also more flexible and better at problem-solving. They are more likely to focus on the facts, challenge each other’s views and process information more carefully than homogenous teams, who are more likely to be complacent and rely on shared biases to make decisions (7). Troubleshooting and coming up with alternative solutions to technical problems quickly is the lifeblood of live audio, why wouldn’t we put the best combination of people together to do that?

Happy workers are productive workers

Increasing employee satisfaction might not be as much of a priority in an industry that relies heavily on freelancers, but the principle is still a good one. Everyone knows teamwork is essential on any gig, and camaraderie can get you through the toughest of challenges. On the other hand, even the easiest job is unbearable if it’s crewed by grumpy sound techs. This atmosphere also gets noticed by the artists and management. Freelancers become the face of the audio company while on-site, so it makes good business sense to present that face as happy and engaged.

It is important to note that employee morale only improves if teams are diverse enough. The McKinsey study states that “For minority workers, for example, the boost in satisfaction kicks in when representation exceeds 15 percent of the workforce. Where diversity recruitment is a token effort, psychological outcomes are poorer.” It is not enough to hire one homosexual woman of colour and pat yourself on the back because you’ve ticked a bunch of diversity boxes off the list in one go. As someone who is often the only woman on a team, my experience is that it can sometimes feel particularly isolating, and raising issues that no one else cares about can single you out as a troublemaker. It is less exhausting and risky to your career to conform to everyone else’s behaviour than to try to bring about any meaningful change when you’re the only “different” person. The study also found that gender representation in the US had no effect on profits until women made up 22% of an executive team, after which there was a linear increase in profits in line with increased representation. Other research suggests that increasing diversity can in fact lead to increased confrontation within teams, at least in the short term (4), but that confrontation can result in decreased bias (8) and increased productivity (4, 8) overall. If teams are varied and open enough to foster an atmosphere of honesty and debate, everyone can learn from each other’s differences and improve as a result.

Closer connections with clients

Lastly, it strengthens customer orientation. Drawing on knowledge from a broad range of backgrounds will help to anticipate clients’ needs better and avoid any potential cultural faux pas. It is a natural human tendency to prefer people who are like ourselves (ingroup favouritism, (5)), so while trying to overcome that bias within the team, it could be an advantage in connecting with the client. Assigning an entire crew to match the identity of the client would be taking it too far, becoming its own form of segregation and decreasing diversity in the workplace. However, the client interacting with a range of people maximises the chances of finding someone to connect with and fosters good feeling, especially in very close and personal roles like monitors. If the audio crew has plenty of experience of dealing with people who are different to them, they can also handle cultural barriers more diplomatically than people with little experience.

Far from being a costly and miserable exercise in political correctness, diverse workforces increase profits, improve workflow, foster innovation, raise employee morale and strengthen customer relations. What’s more, the company benefits from the kudos that comes with being seen to be “doing the right thing” for equality. It can be tough to justify anything outside of the essentials of a business in the current economic climate, but when it comes to increasing diversity the old cliche really rings true: it isn’t whether you can afford to, it’s whether you can afford not to.

You Can Find Resources to Increase Diversity in Your Applicant Pool Here

  1. Quotas and Targets: How do they affect diversity progress? Chartered Institute of Progress and Development Policy Report, 2015. https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/quotas-and-targets_june-2015-how-affect-diversity-progress_tcm18-10824.pdf
  2. The Truth About Anti-White Discrimination, Payne, 2019. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-anti-white-discrimination/
  3. Why Diversity Programs Fail, Dobbin and Kalev, 2016. https://hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail
  4. Does Diversity Pay? Herring, 2009 (https://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/Apr09ASRFeature.pdf)
  5.  Diversity Matters, Hunt, Layton & Prince 2005 https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/organization/our%20insights/why%20diversity%20matters/diversity%20matters.pdf)
  6. How Diverse Teams Produce Better Outcomes, Beilock, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sianbeilock/2019/04/04/how-diversity-leads-to-better-outcomes/
  7. Why Diverse Teams are Smarter, 2016 https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter
  8. Standing Up for a Change: Reducing Bias Through Interpersonal Confrontation, Czopp, Monteith and Mark, 2006 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.138.462&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Resources for hiring women and BIPOC techs, engineers, producers and more

The EQl Directory

The EQL Directory is a global database of professionals that seeks to amplify the careers and achievements of women working behind the scenes in music and audio. Any person around the world can add their name and claim their space. And, any person looking to hire a more inclusive creative team can find professionals in their area.

POC in Audio Directory

The directory features over 500 people of color who work in audio around the world. You’ll find editors, hosts, writers, producers, sound designers, engineers, project managers, musicians, reporters, and content strategists with varied experience from within the industry and in related fields.

While recruiting diverse candidates is a great first step, it’s not going to be enough if we want the industry to look and sound meaningfully different in the future. Let us be clear: this isn’t about numbers alone. This is about getting the respect that people of color—and people of different faiths, abilities, ages, socioeconomic statuses, educational backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientation—deserve.

50+ All-women and feminist sound/music tech collectives, co-ops, non-profits

Women in Lighting

Femnoise

A collective fighting for the reduction of the gender gap in the music industry. But we soon realized that the solution is not just activism. We have to go one step further: to connect and empower underrepresented individuals on a large scale, worldwide.

POC Theatre Designers and Techs

Wingspace

is committed to the cause of equity in the field.  There are significant barriers to accessing a career in theatrical design and we see inequalities of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability across the field.

Parity Productions

Fills creative roles on their productions with women and trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) artists. In addition to producing their own work, they actively promote other theatre companies that follow their 50% hiring standard.

Production on Deck

Uplifting underrepresented communities in the arts. Their main goal is to curate a set of resources to help amplify the visibility of (primarily) People of Color in the arts.

She is the Music Data Base

FUTURE MUSIC INDUSTRY 

WOMEN/ NON-BINARY DJS/PRODUCERS

South America – Productores por país – Podcasteros

Diversity Database for the Perth Music Community

Women in Live Music DataBase

Pearl Jam Fans Rally To Help Live Event Techs

 

The Wishlist Foundation is a Pearl Jam fan-run nonprofit, grassroots 501(c)(3) fan organization dedicated to supporting Pearl Jam’s charitable and philanthropic efforts. They are 100% fan run, independent from the band, its management or the Ten Club, though they have been generously supportive of their efforts through the years.

Their ongoing mission is to utilize the collective ability of Pearl Jam fans around the globe to make a difference in the world. They have raised over 1.5 million dollars since their founding to support causes dear to the band Pearl Jam.

The Wishlist Foundation is made up and run by fans of Pearl Jam and music. They want to give back and help support the people who bring live music to them. That’s us — the techs and engineers.

Through their efforts, they are helping to support us during COVID 19 by filling Amazon and Target Wishlists.

How it works.

  1. Create an Amazon or Target Wishlist
  2. Make sure your Wishlist is public
  3. Complete the registration form with a link to your Wishlist
  4. The links to your Wishlist will be sent to The Wishlist Foundation
  5. The Wishlist Foundation will activate their members to fill Wishlists

Ideas to create your wishlist

Register Here

The deadline to register is Sept. 1, 2020

 

 

What Will We Do When Our World Returns?

My last day of work was March 13, 2020, and I’m still just as confused and anxious about it as the day our industry shut down.  Since I was 15 years old, I have never gone this long without working, and I really just don’t know how to feel about it.  I work in the arts because it feeds my soul, but can I afford that luxury anymore?  Is it fair to ask me to get another job?  Getting another job for me would mean getting another career, which would mean starting from zero, but I can’t afford to go back to school or pay for new training while I’m unemployed.  And what if I and a bunch of other people like me in my industry have this thought?  Then who is going to work in entertainment when it IS back?  Maybe I should just apply my sound skills to a non-live sector, so podcasts, radio plays, editing, etc.  Again, isn’t everyone going to be trying to do that, so won’t that completely oversaturate the market and make it impossible for most to work?  If I just hang tight, stay unemployed, and wait for the world to reopen, how long will that take, and how long can I actually last like that?  These (and many more) are the questions circling my worried mind every second of every day.  I’m watching companies fold.  I’m watching venues lock their doors forever.  What if that happens to one of my regular gigs?  What’s going to happen to me and to my colleagues, friends, and family?

The entertainment industry is famous for using two phrases:  1. “There’s no business like show business” 2. “The show must go on.”  Since I have no control over what our future holds, I’m choosing to put my faith in those two mantras.  They’ve gotten me through sticky situations many times in the past, it stands to reason that they will work their magic now.  I mean, we’ve all been there.  We’ve all had way too many notes piling up at the last minute, or not even teched the end of a show before the first preview, or listened to a host of sound gremlins making their presence known during that final preview, yet, opening night always comes, and the show always goes on.  It’s the magic of theatre.  Yes, you read that right, I’m openly relying on magic now.

So, let’s skip ahead to the part where entertainment opens back up.  We all know it will not be all at once, and we all know it will not be like it was before.  My plea for anyone reading this is to please be open, respect the process, and please be kind to each other.  We’ve been doing a lot of good work that needs to continue when we reopen. Jobs will be scarce, and we will all need them, but we need to remember what we’ve been working on for our community. We will encounter companies affected by the pandemic trying to hire entertainment workers for less than they are worth because “that is all they can afford right now.”  We can’t let that happen.  Look, I get it.  We all need work, but if we sell our skills for less than they’re worth, that is the price those producers will start to expect from you in the future and everyone else that does the same work as you.

We’ve been working hard on solidifying our standards, and we can’t waffle just because we hit a bump (or hill, or mountain…) in the road.  It’s not good for you, it’s not good for me, it’s not good for our community.  We need to remember that we have pledged to be allies and accomplices for marginalized people. We need to continue that work. Don’t take jobs from racist companies. Don’t keep quiet about discriminatory practices. Don’t turn a blind eye to misogyny and homophobia. You might say to yourself, “I have to keep this gig, I need the money, I’ve been out of work for so long,” but just remember that the company you are working for needs you too.  If you, if everyone makes a stand together, refuses to work in inequitable situations, who will they have to turn to?  Those companies will be faced with two choices: Change their policies, or shut their doors.  We need to remember not to be greedy. Don’t take overlapping jobs.  Give one of your fellow community members a shot at survival too.

Brace yourselves, I’m going to quote High School Musical now….We’re all in this together.  I know that’s just about the most Pollyanna thing you’ve heard from me, but I really can’t convey the sentiment any other way.  We really are all in this together. And we are stronger together.  And we know that. So this is one of those times when it’s going to be really tough to always do the right thing, but that’s what integrity is doing the right thing even when it’s tough and even when no one is watching. Stay safe, my friends.  Keep your heads up, and keep moving forward.  We will get there together.

 

How Can We Boost Intersectionality in Audio?

 

Intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. It is no secret that women, people of color, and other minority groups are highly underrepresented in our audio industry. So how do we change this? We need to understand intersectionality and practice intersectionality as a WAY OF THINKING and ACTION, and not just a word.

Understand and Recognize Differences

Stating that you “don’t see color” is a problem. A huge problem. Understand and recognize there are many different people from all walks of life. Race,  gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. These character traits are what make each and every one of us individuals and unique. Besides being prejudiced against people who are different from you, learn to embrace differences and recognize your own differences. Understanding and recognizing differences can help the audio industry hire and create a safe space for minority groups.

Increase Representation

How many times have we seen audio companies host panels and seminars with only white cis-gender men on the panel? It is truly disgusting, and when these companies are called out about this, very little is done about the matter. Why is this? We need to increase representation. In order for us to increase representation in the audio industry, we actually need to hire minority groups. Generate panels with more people of color and women in our industry. There are very few if any women or people of color in executive positions. There is not one Black-Owned audio touring company on a large scale in the US. Before you hire your “homeboys” and skip over resumes of names that “sound Black”, please understand the damage that is being done for individuals and groups who already suffer from discrimination disproportionately. There are a lot of racists in power and in positions that inflict their racist ideology in society and jobs. This is also true in our industry.

Join the Conversation

Staying silent and ignoring social justice reforms and racism is not okay. Ally is not a noun. Ally is a verb, something you do and continue to do because it is right. Speak up against racism, homophobia, misogyny, and every other form of hate and oppression. Join the conversation against hate and create a conversation in the workplace. We saw many companies speak up standing with BLM but continue to discriminate against Blacks. We need to continue to educate ourselves and each other.

More on creating an inclusive industry

How to Find the Best Candidate for the Job

Twi McCallum on Hiring Black Designers and Creatives

Twi McCallum on The SoundGirls Podcast

For the Men Who Want to Support Women in Audio

A Guide to Supporting Women in Sound

Black Technicians Matter

On Current Events and the State of Our Industry

Women in Audio – Music Blogs, Collectives, and Organizations

A More Inclusive Industry

 

 

 

Recording through Live Stream Services – August 17

 

SoundgGirls & Female Frequency Webinar with Ali AMAC McGuire.  Moderated by Vanessa Silberman.

Learn how to record and collaborate from home through Zoom and other live stream sources

Monday, August 17th – 6 pm-8 pm EST

Register here

Ali “AMAC” McGuire is a Gold Record Mixing Engineer and vocal producer. Having worked with artists from Joji to WifisFuneral, Shordie Shoridie, Slushii, Sophia Reyes, Lizzo, Phi11a, Kelly Rowland, PNB Rock, The Kooks and more.

A MAC got her start in Philadelphia PA doing FOH at live sound venues all over the city then moving on to touring with acts like Fetty Wap, Post Malone, and T Wayne.

In 2017 A MAC decided to move to LA to work in the studio with the best in the world. After getting her first studio job at Melrose Sound in Hollywood she branched off to work with labels such as Atlantic, Warner, GOOD Music, 88 Rising, Hitco and more. https://www.amaculent.com/

Vanessa Silberman is an international touring singer, guitarist and songwriter from Brooklyn, NY (via Los Angeles, CA). She is also a record producer, engineer, an independent A&R and runs an artist development Label called A Diamond Heart Production.

Vanessa’s live shows and music has been compared to the raw bare bones rock ‘n roll of Nirvana along with the appeal of Liz Phair and Chrissie Hynde, authenticity of classic artists such as Patti Smith and Neil Young mixed with the pop sensibilities of commercial radio artists such as Green Day and Metric.

Widely known for having a very strong DIY ethic and wearing many different hats in the music business —Vanessa has worked for heavy hitter’s in the music business such as Producer / Songwriter Dr.Luke as well as for many companies and places ranging from the Foo Fighter’s Studio 606 to Epitaph Records.
https://www.vanessasilbermanofficial.com/

Female Frequency
Female Frequency is a community dedicated to empowering female, transgender & non-binary artists through the creation of music that is entirely female generated.

The first Female Frequency EP made entirely by women is available here–>
femalefrequency.bandcamp.com
femalefrequency.com

Mary Mazurek – When One Door Closes Keep Knocking

“We don’t hire women engineers, but you can answer the phone if you want.” Mazurek remembers, “That completely blind-sided me. I couldn’t say anything else, other than ‘No, thank you.’” And she hung up the phone.

Mary is a Grammy-nominated recording and live broadcast engineer and works in radio production at WFMT Radio. She also works independently with clients and teaches at Columbia College and DePaul University in Chicago. She got her start at the legendary Universal Recording Studios in 1991. Unfortunately, they also closed in 1991.

In 1993, she took a job as an “Occasional Overnight Board Operator” at WFMT Radio. Her role at WFMT eventually expanded and Mary found herself engineering larger projects working with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra, Kronos Quartet, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Lyric Opera of Chicago, etc.

With a last-minute request, she engineered the recording of the clarinet concerto for the album Liquid Melancholy: Clarinet Music of James M. Stephenson on the Çedille label. She along with Çedille engineer Bill Maylone were nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Mary has been at WFMT for 27 years and engineers the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert. Broadcasts. She is also the engineer and music producer for WFMT’s signature program Live from WFMT, and is the engineer for Impromptu. She is responsible for the majority of the approximately 225 yearly live music heard on the station.  Her credits include The Chicago Chorale, Civic Orchestra of Chicago Radio Broadcasts, International Music Foundation, LA Guitar Quartet, Howard Levy, The Search, etc.

Mary is an active member of The Recording Academy and served as governor and the Classical Task Force chairperson for the Chicago Chapter. Additionally, she is a committee member for the AES Chicago Chapter and a member of the larger organization’s Education and Diversity and Inclusion committees.  Mary is an interdisciplinary artist whose work is based primarily in sound and image, and her work in this realm has been exhibited in Chicago, New York, Mexico, and Berlin. She received her M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Art from Columbia College, Chicago, IL, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Art Theory from IDSVA, Portland, ME.

Mary’s first brush with audio was as a youth when she dissected her mother’s Wollensak reel to reel tape recorder, Mary says “she wasn’t very happy about that.” In 1988, she would enroll at DePaul University as a music major (she began studying piano at age 11), but they also had a relatively new major called Sound Recording Technology. Mary had no idea what that entailed but knew she could do it.

“Even though I possessed no audio background, I fell in love with recording through my undergraduate education at DePaul University. I had a really great experience there, and our recording classes were held at Universal Recording (originally founded by Bill Putnam) under Murray Allen, and Tom Miller.

It never hurts to ask and always be early

“I’d arrive early to class at Universal Recording, and one day I got up the nerve to go into Murray Allen’s office and asked if I could assist there. He said yes, and I immediately started assisting jingle sessions, voiceover sessions, even had the opportunity to sub as an A2 on the Oprah Show on a few occasions because of that relationship. But one of my most valuable experiences was assisting Universal’s only woman engineer Lorita De La Cerna recording Foley for the restoration of Orson Welles Othello.”

The importance of saying No and not giving up

“When I tried to get a job after I graduated, one prominent Chicago studio told me that, “We don’t hire women engineers, but you can answer the phone if you want.”  That crushed me, but I eventually was hired by WFMT Radio as an Occasional Overnight Board Operator, and then I worked my way up. Now I engineer most of their 225 yearly live music broadcasts.”

Re-Recording the mental tape

Before being hired at WFMT, Mary found that she could not get one single call back from the studios she had applied at. She soon found that she was doubting her ability to be a recording engineer, doubting her instincts, and just wanting to fit in with the guys. She noticed that her male colleagues were getting gigs, so she would try to be more like them.

The doubt started to re-record her mental tape and it sounded like “You’re a woman, you can’t be an engineer. You’re second-class,”

Mary would pretend like this did not matter, as many women engineers do, and continue on until she became physically ill. Doctors discussed diagnoses of Hashimoto’s, Crohn’s disease, and the possibility of lupus.  This was a big wake-up call. She realized in order to improve her health; she would have to re-record her mental tape. Mary took charge and began to re-record the tape with a new narrative where feminine qualities like empathy, intuition, compassion, and kindness were strengths that benefited her work.

Excerpted from the speech Mary gave in 2018 at the Recording Academy Task Force On Diversity and Inclusion at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

You can read more here 

The importance of mentors and saying Yes

I had several mentors. I am grateful to Murray Allen who gave me a chance first to enter into DePaul’s recording program and then to assist at Universal Recording. My teacher Tom Miller who taught me from the ground up. Finally, Lorita De La Cerna for being a female mentor and role model. They taught me how to work with individuals, teams as well as independently.

They taught me to be open and to look for opportunities in every experience.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

As her role at WFMT continued to expand, Mary started engineering larger projects. One that she loved was working with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The live radio broadcast was derived from Ginsburg’s Opera and Law Lecture with members Lyric Opera’s Patrick G. And Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. These talented vocalists along with collaborative pianist Craig Terry performed famous operatic scenes that dealt with law and justice.  WFMT’s sister station WTTW simultaneously shot video for a segment on their program “Chicago Tonight” using Mary’s audio. One of the cameramen commented, “Your audio is the best audio that we ever receive.”

WFMT: Impromptu Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Visits WFMT

Again the Importance of saying Yes!

In 2018, Mary got a last-minute call to record The Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra with clarinet soloist John Bruce Yeh, both of whom she had worked with several times. Taking the gig meant making a major equipment upgrade on her part, but she took the gig and the concerto along with chamber music recorded by Cedille’s engineer Bill Maylone became Liquid Melancholy: Clarinet Music of James M. Stephenson.

When Mary heard the finished production, she entered it for Grammy consideration. She thought that the soloist might be nominated as he had won in the past, but when the Grammy nominations were announced she found that she and Bill had been nominated for Best Engineered Album, Classical.

The Grammy nomination has given Mary the opportunity to be more selective on the work she takes but is still at WFMT, Columbia and De Paul. She is dedicated to mentoring women in the field, volunteering her time with SoundGirls and AES, and dedicated to speaking about her career and diversity and inclusion in the industry.

Less than 5% of Audio Engineers are Women — This is My Story

A typical day for Mary

The great thing about it is that there isn’t a typical day. Some days I will go out for a remote and broadcast live music on location, other times it’s a live broadcast from the WFMT studio. Some days I work with a video crew, others there’s post-production. I also write and produce web content for WFMT.com. I teach audio recording and production once or twice a week depending on the semester. I generally don’t go looking for freelance clients, but if someone approaches me with an interesting project, I’ll generally work with them. I am occasionally asked to speak or give masterclasses on recording or podcasting. And I’m writing a Ph.D. dissertation on the aesthetics of noise, which includes some examples on how it is utilized in art and music.

Staying organized and focused

I think part of it is due to a sense of responsibility instilled in me at a young age coupled with loving the work. Also, if there is something that I really want to do, I just figure it out.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I love microphones! I love placing and adjusting them and noticing how that changes the sound and recording with them.

What do you like least?

Being rushed.

What is your favorite day off activity?

Self-care.

What are your long-term goals?

To win a GRAMMY Award. I’m getting closer. Better my health. Finish my Ph.D. Continue to support women in this industry.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I was told in 1991 by a prominent Chicago studio, “We don’t hire women engineers, but you can answer the phone if you want.” It wasn’t only the shock of being told that, but I began to doubt my abilities and worth as an engineer.

How have you dealt with them?

I also have a stubborn, “I’ll show you” side. I’m very determined, so work really hard to improve myself, or as Steve Martin said, “Be so good that they can’t ignore you.”

The advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

This might be the best time to enter the industry because there are growing diversity awareness and initiatives to help women and non-binary identifying people. SoundGirls is doing great work in this area. But you still have to be diligent, do your best work, and figure out how to improve.

Must have skills?

In my specialty of classical music, you must know how to place microphones and follow a score.

Favorite gear?

My pair of DPA 4011s! I use them all of the time.

More on Mary

A Conversation with Grammy-Nominated Sound Engineer, Mary Mazurek

Haymarket Opera Interview

Less than 5% of Audio Engineers are Women — This is My Story

The SoundGirls Podcast – Mary Mazurek: Grammy-nominated engineer, DPAs, & matcha tea

Mary on Working Class Audio Podcast

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent

Profiles of Women in Audio

 

Accepting Applications for SoundGirls Bloggers 2021

Blog for SoundGirls

Are you passionate about the industry, do you want to share your experience and knowledge with the SoundGirls Community?  Then you may want to become a blogger for SoundGirls in 2021.  Our bloggers volunteer for a year of blogging (can be extended into 2022) and choose how often to submit blogs (once a month, every two months, or four blogs for the 2020 year)

If you are interested, please apply here

Things we are looking for in our bloggers

Although we are mainly looking for people who can write well, are organized, and passionate.  All areas of audio & music are welcome to apply. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

Industry Knowledge

Not only is understanding the industry from a concept/fundamental standpoint important, but having real-life experiences is essential for any great blogger.  Having real-life experience allows you to share those experiences, learn from those experiences, build relationships, and learn things that are not taught from reading a book.

Passionate

Great bloggers must be passionate about what they are writing about.  We believe if you are writing about things you are not interested or knowledgeable in, it will show in your writing and to your readers.  People who are passionate about a topic or industry find it much easier to write about things that others with similar interests would enjoy.  Long-term, you have to LOVE what you do.

Writing Background/Experience

Of course, if you have a writing background or you have acquired good writing skills through years of experience, it will help keep your blogs to be engaging and more enjoyable.  Using proper grammar, descriptive verbiage, and compelling headlines can keep readers engaged in your content longer.  We think overall if you are naturally a good writer, it will allow you to create high-quality content much easier and more efficiently.

Organized

A great blogger should be very well organized.  It will be important to plan and manage your writing schedules.  Like running your own business or planning your week for your full-time job, blogging should be no different.  Brainstorming blog ideas and creating a writing schedule all need to be organized to maximize your work schedule.

If you fly by the seat of your pants (as many people do) and are disorganized, it will most likely lead to inefficiencies in your blogging.  You can also find yourself so consumed with daily tasks, that your content quality suffers because you are just trying to rush through the writing process to get something out.

Strong Work Ethic

Having a strong work ethic turns good bloggers into great bloggers.  Someone that is able to stick to a schedule, exceed personal goals and expectations, and push themselves, will stand out from the crowd.  Many bloggers are writing for their own blog so it is not exactly a situation where they are getting paid for each post they write.  So it takes a person with a strong work ethic to see the long term benefits and keep pushing themselves to consistently produce great content.

Network/Industry Reach

A blogger that has a large network and is known in the industry will make it much easier to promote their content.  As we all know, even if you write great content, you still need to promote it.  If you have built personal relationships with industry veterans, it can help earn credibility personally and for your blog.  If you can shoot a few messages and e-mails to key people in the industry who you know will promote your content to their networks, that can be extremely powerful.  Essentially you are leveraging your network and industry reach to promote content, gain feedback, and even help contribute to your blog.

SEO Knowledge

Having basic SEO knowledge is a plus for any blogger.  Bloggers who understand the benefits of good keyword research, how to promote content, and maximizing the potential of each post, will gain a larger readership in a shorter amount of time.

Goes Against the Grain

To be a great blogger, you need to sometimes go against what everyone else is doing and do something that is away from “the norm”.  Coming up with unique ways to stand out from the crowd is a way that great bloggers get found.  It could be a post, design-related, new way of promotion, unique content delivery, or something that has never been done before in the industry.

Social Media

Generally, bloggers spend a good amount of time on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.  Being active on various social networks and engaging with people on a regular basis will help bloggers get noticed.  If you are consistently promoting other users’ content, those users will begin to notice and return the favor.  If you read other industry blogs and leave thoughtful comments or even personally contact the blog owner, this is all-important for building your network and getting noticed.

A plus for a great blogger would be being a power user on social bookmarking sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and Reddit.  If you have the ability to promote content and others in the community, notice and promote it as well.

Enjoys Sharing and Helping

Great bloggers genuinely enjoy helping others.  Many bloggers blog because they want to showcase their knowledge in the industry.  Of course, that is part of why people blog, but it should not be the only reason.  Gaining satisfaction out of helping others in your industry is a trait that all great bloggers have.  Taking the time to personally reach out to someone asking a question or for thanking someone who leaves an intelligent comment on your blog is going above and beyond.  It shows that you do care about what others are saying.

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