Leisha Jungalwalla noticed a gender disparity in the numbers of men and women earning a living in the music industry in her home country of Australia.
The festival lineups she looked at were 80 per cent male artists, she said. And the annual salaries for women in the entertainment business were 27 per cent lower than men.
It inspired her to start Sass the Patriarchy — nights of music and discussion dedicated to these topics in hopes of making the music industry more welcoming of women and gender non-binary people.
She has hosted events all over Australia and New Zealand and is hosting her first Canadian event at the Edmonton live music venue The Aviary on Wednesday, July 18.
“We really focus on actual specific strategies that musicians can take away, industry people can take away and audience members can take away,” Jungalwalla told CBC’s Radio Active.
She started hosting the events at the end of last year after seeing other panels talking about more diversity and inclusion — but nothing happening after the panel discussion was done.
“It seemed like there was a lot of talk happening but not a lot of action,” Jungalwalla said. Instead of discussing the problems, the conversations are more directed to how the community can help fix them.
Sass the Patriarchy is unique in that it does not just involve industry professionals — it involves the audience, too.
Sass the Patriarchy’s event in Edmonton is Wednesday night at The Aviary, 9314 111th Ave. (Sass the Patriarchy/Facebook)
“They’re the ones that buy the tickets and the music and ultimately are the consumer,” Jungalwalla said.
One of the issues women and gender non-binary people face in the industry is people assuming that they don’t know how the music industry works.
That issue, along with the gender disparity in festival lineups, are two issues that Jungalwalla says should be tackled.
“Don’t be too aggressive,” she said. “It’s just a matter of asking why there isn’t a diverse lineup, especially in 2018.”
Jungalwalla said the conversations within the industry are part of a bigger movement worldwide.
“It’s just sort of a small cog in a very big wheel of this big movement we’re seeing all over the world for women’s rights and gender diversity,” she said.
Sass the Patriarchy happens Wednesday at The Aviary. Tickets are still available.