an online directory wants to end gender discrimination in the world of music and entertainment

Ending gender discrimination in the music and entertainment industry: this is the goal of “Majeur.es”, a platform that will be launched at the end of May. It will make it possible to identify women, transgender and non-binary people who work as technicians, producers or musicians. Starting from a simple observation: women represent only 36% of workers in these sectors.

“Majeur.es” will take the form of an online directory, which will bring together the CVs of these people. Thanks to a search engine, we can find the “identity record” of each registrant. “We will know in the blink of an eye what the person’s name is, what their key experiences are, where they are available…”lists Alice Deleporte, project manager at “Majeur.es”. “We will also have his contact details, his email address and his social networks.” A tag system will allow you to do an advanced search.

The objective is to give visibility to people discriminated against by word of mouth.“We now know that recommendations for certain positions and in certain fields favor men. The systems of recommendation and co-optation are extremely closed and discriminatory with regard to gender”says Alice Deleporte.

Aware of this systemic discrimination, some people censor themselves. “It’s such a habit to see men in these positions that it’s very rare that there are many female candidates”, confirms Sophie Broyer, production manager for the Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon. She has restrained herself on some occasions.

“We ask ourselves the question of our legitimacy: do we have our place and are we going to be recognized?”

Sophie Broyer, production manager for Nuits de Fourvière

at franceinfo

Some people self-censor so much that companies can’t find female candidates even by searching. “If we were content to wait to meet female artists and technicians through our acquaintances, it could take longer than with a tool that will systematize profiles throughout France”, explains Romain Pierre, from the Vlad label. He who presents himself as non-binary has pre-registered on the site.

Nearly 1,200 other professionals in the sector have taken the plunge. “At the Nuits de Fourvière festival, for example, it’s really going to be an important resource as soon as we want to work more on inclusion because there are lots of different professions on this platform. So it’s really A wealth.” The objective is to create a virtuous circle: the more women, non-binary or transgender people are hired, the more they are visible and therefore the more others feel legitimate to apply.