#117 - Celebrating Women's History Month

I'd like to celebrate Women's History Month by giving a shout out to all the women I have met or will meet that challenge society's norms every day.  In case some of your aren't aware, I am a woman. I realize with a name like "Cookie" it could go either way and I've caught a few people off guard. :)

Truthfully, I don't think about it much.  My attitude has always been to be as good as I could be and get hired based on my work, not on my gender.  In audio, there weren't many female role models as I was getting into the music and audio businesses.  Early on, it was a different story.  My first music teachers were mostly women.  The other 4 oboists in my high school were all women.  I grew up in the Bay Area where women were encouraged to participate.  I found out later not every place was as welcoming.

Going to college my teachers were mostly men. The orchestra conductors were men.  The first band I joined was all men.  I still didn't think much about it.  Just went on about my music. 

When it came to learning how to be an audio engineer, my bandmates had no problem pointing to me and saying, "you're going to learn this stuff".  Even though I managed to escape having to set up all the gear, I was the one who did the research and made the gear decisions.

I did have a couple of instances where gender seemed to be an issue.  Traveling to Seattle to perform in a jazz ensemble caused a little stir at a rehearsal once.  Another was a situation over a soundtrack I was up for composing several decades ago.  The choreographer had recommended me to record the soundtrack.  It was a 'sound alike' of a Madonna tune.  I had done dozens of these kinds of things back then. I met with the producers/directors and all was going well.... so it seemed. 

Then I got a call from an artist I worked with (name withheld because you might know him) who asked if I could help him with a soundtrack he just got.  As he described the situation, I began to realize that it was the same soundtrack I had just met the producers about. 

The artist said, "I've never done this before and could use your help".  Then the artist offered me half of what I had bid for the job and found out he was offered twice as much as my bid. He didn't even put in a bid... he was offered more money with no previous experience.  I turned him down. It was no longer about the money.  What ever the reason for hiring him, I discovered 'the boy's club' - something I had never experienced before.  I was furious... not at the artist (who it happened I was producing at the time) but at the producers.  

Funny enough, being a professional audio engineer didn't have many unusual situations.  Most often we work on referrals.  The pro audio community has been welcoming to me.

The audiophile community is a little different than pro audio where the 'gender' bias is an unconscious thing. Use of demeaning terms like "the wife factor" has got to go. It's not funny.  As these myths trickle down in conversations or on forums, it sets up a barrier that says "women not welcomed here".  

What pops into my mind is that more than 50% of new consumer electronic purchases are made by women.  The car industry figured it out decades ago and advertising changed.  The men who use "wife factor" are the same ones pushing women away even if unconscious.  That is OLD thinking.  We need to get off these old 'one liners' in audio and accept women as audio enthusiasts who aspired for higher quality.  

Not all male audiophiles treat women this way.  I have made many great friends in this industry.  But as I travel to some of the social media forums out there, it's amazes me that so many men repeat these old sayings. 

The good news is the younger generation seems to be open minded.

Enjoy the rest of your day and share your music with someone you love!

Cookie