The collectives TURNT and PeachClub are joining forces on March 18th to bring awareness to the lack of diversity and representation of women and other minorities in the electronic music industry.
In this industry, like many others, women have faced significant challenges related to representation and inclusion. Women make up a small percentage of DJs, producers, executives and leadership positions, which can make it more difficult for them to be successful and for their work to be recognized. This lack of representation can also create a negative feedback loop, where women may be discouraged from pursuing careers in the industry because of a lack of role models and opportunities, further contributing to the underrepresentation of women in the field.
In addition to underrepresentation, women in electronic music have also reported experiencing sexism and harassment. Women may be subjected to unwanted advances, discrimination, and bias. These experiences can create an unsafe and uncomfortable work environment, resulting in less women pursuing careers in the Industry.
The lack of diversity in the electronic music scene is not limited to gender. People of color, the queer community, and other marginalized groups also face bias and underrepresentation. Like women, this can make it difficult for artists from these backgrounds to break into the scene. This lack of multiculturalism can also contribute to a lack of diversity in the sounds and styles of music that are promoted.
The Peach Club began as a series of cabaret comedy shows, and has branched out into nightlife events. Their mission is to book either exclusively, or in majority female-identifying, nonbinary, and queer people in order to build a community of fierce people who identify with issues affecting women. Their goal is to inspire their community to be creative as artists and entrepreneurs, to push for representation and to create spaces where our work is valued and our voices heard.
TURNT is an organization that aims to offer inclusive and immersive musical experiences to its public in the first place. With time it has progressed towards establishing different platforms in order to support women, emerging artists and local projects of the community of the underground electronic scene of Montreal while bringing diversity, equality and inclusivity. TURNT is constantly pushing forward boundaries to open discussion about difficult subjects and shape the evolution of mentalities of the music industry.
With all this in mind, the Women of the Industry event was created in order to address all the issues mentioned, but also, to give a stage to an incredible lineup of female DJs. By creating an annual event, we hope to normalize booking all female, female dominant, and simply women in lineups in electronic music events. The event will not only consist of DJ sets, but also interactive performances ranging from contemporary dance, tarot readings, and burlesque, all of which will be performed by female-identifying and non-binary people. The presence of the association GRIP will ensure that the event remains a safe space for the participants. Venus was chosen as an aesthetic symbol for this event because this deity was born out of violence and oppression, and emerged a powerful Goddess. She is a fiercely independent woman, who owns her power, beauty and sexuality. The goal is not only to encourage women to own their power and talent, but to create and offer the spaces necessary for them to do that.
Social Media TURNT
https://www.facebook.com/Experienceturnt
https://www.instagram.com/experienceturnt/
Social Media Peach Club
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090279554751
https://www.instagram.com/tastethepeach/