Diversity, inclusion and discrimination in Audio engineering

Title: Diversity, inclusion and discrimination in Audio engineering:
perspectives from current research

Location: University of Huddersfield, Queensgate Campus, Richard Steinitz
Building, Phipps Hall (2nd Floor)

Date: November 11th 2019, 9.15-10 am

Abstract:

You’ve (probably) seen the numbers: only about 5% of Audio engineers are women
(Mathew, 2016); we’re not even sure how many Audio engineers are non-white.
What might not be clear is why this is the case, what it means for Audio engineering,
and what can be done about it. To address the first question, I will review the
current literature on diversity in Audio engineering, placing the profession in an
ideological and historical context that conceives of both technology and sound as
masculine. I will then present findings from within the management literature
showing that diversity is closely associated with positive organizational outcomes
(Østergaard, 2011; Young, 2018; Armstrong, 2010; Pitts, 2009; Ensher, 2001). This
literature also suggests that recruiting diverse populations to Audio engineering
programs will not be enough to ensure diversity in the field, but that it is also crucial
to reduce the experiences of systemic discrimination and micro aggressions that
underrepresented groups encounter in their work. In order to do this on an
organizational level it is necessary to have a detailed and comprehensive
understanding of what these experiences of discrimination are (Cooper, 2010). To
this end, I will present an ongoing large-scale survey project designed to document
the discrimination and micro aggressions experienced by Audio engineering
professionals in studio engineering for music, as well as to understand how these
experiences are related to demographic factors (such as minority status, sexual
orientation, and gender). I will discuss the implications of the survey findings for the
AES and other professional Audio engineering institutions working to implement
diversity and inclusion initiatives. Finally, I will end with a group discussion, inviting
attendees to share their insights into this complex topic.
Before attending this talk, we invite you to fill out the survey ‘Sound
Engineers’ and Producers’ Experiences of Micro Aggressions in the Recording
Studio’, available at https://uleth.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3JLCDErjXeQvZFr
This research is being conducted by recording producer Dr. Amandine Pras and
cultural sociologist Dr. Athena Elafros (both University of Lethbridge) in
partnership with the Audio engineering Society’s Diversity and Inclusion
Committee and with the support of The Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada (SSHRC).