(CNN Spanish) ––
This March 8, International Women's Day is commemorated worldwide.
From brands to institutions they redouble their efforts to make visible their achievements and progress in gender equality.
For the music industry, equal conditions and opportunities for women remain a pending task.
A study from the University of Southern California, published Monday, explores the inclusion of women in the industry.
Research reveals that women only made up 20.2% of artists on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 2020.
And you don't have to go that far to notice it.
If we take a look at the Top 10 of the most played songs in the last week on Spotify, only two women appear on the list: Olivia Rodrigo with "Driver's License" and Kali Uchis with "Telepathy."
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Also, this is not the only instance.
For example, no woman has ever won the category of producer of the year at the Grammy Awards.
While at the Latin Grammys it was only until 2018 when a woman, Linda Briceño, became the first to be recognized for her work in the production.
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Is there progress in terms of equality?
For singer-songwriter Elena Rose, the music industry is heading in the right direction.
“More and more are the ones that stand out in all categories of the industry.
It is a very special moment for us.
We are not only going in the right direction but in the one that should have gone a long time ago.
That you are no longer more or less respected for being a man or a woman, but for your work and your art, without gender or color.
The work and effort of the warrior women of this industry is speaking for all of us and that is inspiring, "Rose told Zona Pop CNN.
Rose, is the composer behind songs such as "Dance with me" by Selena Gómez with Rauw Alejandro, "Back for the return" by Marc Anthony and Daddy Yankee, "Pa ti" by Jennifer López and Maluma, among others.
María Elisa Ayerbe, a Colombian sound engineer, says that things are changing.
Something that has been achieved through the work of the women themselves.
«There is a group of female composers like Elena Rose, GALE, Musiana, Ali (Stone), a huge group that is giving every day and contributing.
We proposed as a unit for four years to say we are going to get into everything we can get into until our presence becomes completely irrefutable, "said Ayerbe in an interview with Zona Pop CNN.
Ayerbe is part of the very small number of female sound engineers in the music industry.
The Colombian engineer has worked with artists such as Mary J Blige, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, New Kids on the Block, Juanes, GianMarco, Natti Natasha, Il Divo, Laura Pausini, among others.
Ayerbe, however, stresses that women's efforts should be supported beyond March, the month in which International Women's Day is commemorated.
«It goes from being an extremely special month in which our causes are visualized, inequities are visualized, micro-sexism is visualized, all the things we have to go through, especially in these fields in which there is a male majority over a female minority .
And it turns out that the rest of the year they abandon us ”.
For Ali Stone, singer, songwriter and producer of artists like RBD, Cami Gallardo, among others, the solution goes beyond including women in the conversation.
“It is not only that they make us part of the conversation, but that we are at the same table, because when they hire [us] sometimes it happens that they [tell us] thank you for the demo, but we are going to hire this producer, [something] what happened to me, "Stone said in an interview with Zona Pop CNN.
Micromachisms in the music industry
Stone and Ayerbe have experienced what they call micromachismo in their careers.
Both have received feedback from their male counterparts regarding their capabilities in the realm of composition, production, and sound engineering.
"A few years ago I showed my songs to a producer and he was like 'Wow, this sounds like a man did it!'" Recalls Stone.
“Later at the NAMM show I saw that producer and he [said] she's the one who sounds like a man.
Is it a compliment, but not in the end?
It wasn't like saying a woman can't, but implicitly yes, ”Stone said.
«That comment always seemed super strange to me.
It is like, let's say, an implicit machismo, which is not there directly, but it is already culturally sown.
I feel like it's already part of society, that people have these kinds of comments, "adds Stone.
"I have been in situations in which I know perfectly well that my colleagues and peers, who in my case are all men, I know that they offer more for projects," says María Elisa Ayerbe.
«I have been in instances where I have been the supervisor of a group of engineers and then I have realized that I earned less than everyone else, being the supervisor.
So it is something we have to deal with in our daily lives, "adds Ayerbe.
Ayerbe recalls an incident in which a client asks her how a woman listens to music.
"They have asked me such basic questions as 'Do you wonder how you should listen with your woman's ears?'
And I answer… 'Well, as far as I know, the internal construction of the ear works exactly the same in men and women.
But are there differences?
The truth is I have no idea, because all my life I have listened with a woman's ears.
I could not tell'.
That is my answer.
After years of maturing.
Imagine the first time they told me.
I almost fell apart, "said Ayerbe.
For Elena Rose, in the Latino industry these expressions of machismo come from culture.
“Machismo is part of the Latino culture.
It is not only against women, sometimes it is against men themselves.
The clash of egos, the power game.
Let's say they have doubted me for being a rookie or not having millions of followers on Instagram, but I have focused on being the best version of myself with myself.
Don't let those looks or those comments define who I am.
First I had to find myself to know that no one was ever going to be able to dictate what it was good for or what it was not.
Respecting myself made me earn the respect of others, "Elena Rose told Zona Pop CNN.
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Sisterhood, a tool in the fight
For both Ayerbe and Rose, support among women in the industry is an important tool to fight gender inequality.
“The aspect of sisterhood is extremely important because no one is going to understand our cause more than ourselves.
And besides that, we have realized throughout this process that we complement each other and that together we are stronger and that together we empower ourselves and that by supporting each other at all times we are better, ”said Ayerbe.
«I have a lot of respect for my female colleagues and vice versa.
I love seeing us working together at all levels.
I am always on the lookout for new female artists because they will always be my darlings.
Seeing that they have a team of girls or that they do
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among them also fills me with happiness.
I feel like we are all on the same page.
We can work together, support and love each other, without competition or clash of egos, "said Elena Rose.
“We are a very strong group because we recognize our struggle and we recognize our cause.
We know that as islands we are not going to get anywhere.
And the best thing is that we all work together.
When you are able to complement and elevate your sister's work, there is nothing better than that, "said Ayerbe.
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