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STNYC: Women Represented

Why This Year's Grammy Nominations are Important

By Lucie Bernheim

Even prior to the 60th annual Grammys Awards, fans and critics alike condemned the Recording Academy for their inability to equally recognize female artists when nominations were released in December 2017. Despite the popularity of a diverse slate of female artists, no women were nominated for major awards like Record of the Year, Best Rap and Best Country Album and Lorde was the only female nominated for the prestigious "Album of the Year" award (she did not win). In fact, the only exception to this gender specific sweep was Alessia Cara, the winning nominee for “Best New Artist”.

What a difference a year makes. Following last year's absence of female representation, this year's designations for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards include four women nominated for Record of the Year, five for Album of the Year, five for Song of the Year, and 7 out of 8 of the Best New Artist nominees. And those are just the all genre awards.

Country and Rap/R&B- two generally male-dominated genres - experienced some improvement as well, with Cardi B nominated for Best Rap Album; Toni Braxton, Lalah Hathaway and H.E.R. are nominated for Best R&B Album, and, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves and Ashley McBryde nominated for Best Country Album.

For all these advances, there are still barriers to overcome with only one  female nominated in Rock (St. Vincent) and only two for Best Alternative Album (St. Vincent and Bjork). This second category feels particularly disappointing, as the alternative genre is populated with an abundance of talented females.

It is gratifying that the Recording Academy seems to understand the importance of their role and influence in creating a more level playing field for male and female artists, writers, producers and engineers. In fact, because issues of gender-inequity are an issue with regard to radio programming and airplay, the Recording Academy appears to have looked beyond these factors alone when making their Grammy designations - instead seeming to nominate those they believe to be the most talented.

Grammy nominations aside, the Recording Academy does seem to be embracing a more gender-inclusive attitude, announcing new programs like “Women In The Mix,” an initiative that requires at least two women be "identified and considered" every time a music producer or engineer is hired. The initiative also pushes working producers to agree to take issues of gender diversity within music’s technical fields into account when deciding who to mentor and hire for further development. Most gratifying is the show of industry support - with both men and women, such as Justin Bieber, Maggie Rogers and Ryan Hurd, stepping up to sign and support this fledgling effort.

As we approach the 61st Grammy Awards, it seems a good time to pause and take stock of the music industry efforts to ensure more equal footing for both men and women. While there is still plenty of change which can (and should) be made, it has been an encouraging year, with many steps taken in the right direction.

The 61st Grammys aired on Sunday, February 10th on CBS.

CUNY

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