When she was in high school, producer, Dunnie, flirted with the idea of making music, but there was one problem: “I did not know that there were women producers ever in the world until later,” she recalls. “There was no woman around me producing music.” Like many aspects of the music industry, production is male-dominated. She adds, “At the time, I tried going to a couple of studios for them to teach me but none of them actually took me seriously enough.”

The thought of becoming a producer remained a fantasy to her until 2017 when she began learning on YouTube. The Nigerian producer has since gone on to enjoy an increasingly successful career, working with the likes of Ric Hassani, Wande Coal, Becca and more. Despite Dunnie’s success, the lack of visibility of African women within music production remains a stern reality.

Around the world, closing the gap on the gender imbalance in music production is a race that has barely covered much distance. A recent Annenberg Study showed that women represented only two per cent of credited producers on the 600 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 end of the year charts from 2012-2017. Similarly, the Producer of the Year Grammy award has never gone to a woman. 

Women represented two per cent of credited producers on the 600 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 end of the year charts from 2012-2017. Similarly, the Producer of the Year Grammy award has never gone to a woman.

In the absence of empirical data specific to the continent, it is difficult to place a significant figure or percentage on the number of African women in music production. It is however quite clear that the continent is similarly lacking on that front. After observing radio play in Nigeria over a two-week span, I found that the only songs played with women credited as producers were those self-produced by artists such as Tems and Simi. Of the 50 songs on “African Heat”— Spotify’s biggest African-focused playlist —none are credited as being produced by a woman.

“I think the problem is not necessarily just the music industry per se.” Thabiso Khati, former Director of Urban, Universal Music Group Africa & Founder of EMEXTEE, explains. “What we see in the industry is a reflection of what’s happening broadly in society.”

Around the world, closing the gap   on the gender imbalance in music  production is a race that has barely  covered much distance.

Music Historian and Musicologist, Suzanne Cusick, notes that “gender is always a concern for women, for gender somehow marks a woman as not a man, not the norm, not the universal.” Heavily male-dominated spaces like the music industry are by nature built on the experiences and realities of

heteronormative men, leaving the women who eventually break into the industry to “assimilate into a male way of doing things” says Khati. These women are then faced with gender-specific hurdles.

“A lot of artists sometimes judge me by my appearance as a woman and struggle to give me that first shot. This has been the biggest challenge for me personally because I don't look like your average hip-hop producer,” Kay Faith says reflecting on her five-year-long career in South African hip-hop in which she’s worked with the likes of Nasty C, Da Les, Kwesta, and more. “Sometimes you can see that they don't really know how to act around me,” she adds.  

Just like Faith, Kenyan producer, Sharon Onyango-Obbo, experiences a fair share of negative preconceptions around her work. “There’s the odd occasion of people not expecting you to know certain things, assuming you’re just in the studio to chill, or not understanding how to acknowledge your contributions and how to place you. You also don’t have much room for error,” she says. This is an experience that Dunnie also shares: “If a guy walks into a room and says ‘I’m a producer,’ people will just assume they are good,” she explains. “But for women, there’ll be doubt. You have to go the extra mile just to prove that you’re good. Now, If you tell me to play a beat, what I’m going to play must be the baddest beat I have because I know that I need to correct an impression.”

Aside from dealing with the pay gap and being overlooked in favour of the (often lesser-skilled) “boys club,” safety is also a major concern for women producers across Africa. This knowledge has prompted Faith to always travel with an entourage. “There aren't many women in the engineering and music production scene in South Africa and because of this, studio spaces aren't always safe spaces for women to create,” says Faith. “South Africa isn't a very safe place for women in general.” Similarly, Dunnie doesn’t attend studio sessions alone, amongst other precautions she prefers not to share— for safety reasons. “Some days ago, I was the only woman in a studio session with like 12 guys and I was worried. I kept thinking to myself: if something happens right now, how will I be able to escape?”

There aren't many women in the engineering and music production scene in South Africa and because of this, studio spaces aren't always safe spaces for women to create.

Creating lasting solutions that enable a conducive environment for African women producers is a systematic effort that requires the intentional input of the industry as a whole. Khati believes this should begin at the very top.

The journey to achieving true gender equality in the African recording faces a number of road blocks. Tinu Adesugba, Former VP of Content & Communications at Aristokrat Group and the founder 245 Creative, however, believes music education for women will go a long way. “We need more extensive music and art programs in secondary schools,” says Adesugba. Inspired by a similar notion, Dunnie mentors young women on the technical elements of music production in partnership with an NGO Audio Girl Africa. “We organize seminars for young girls between the ages of 13 and 19 who are interested in music production. We often do this in partnership with schools,” says Dunnie. “We need more young women to know that this is a possible career path.”