Archive for March, 2022

Breaking the bias with Pip Ridgway, Stephanie Smyth, Jasmine Williams and Bernice Roust.

International Women’s Day 2022 challenges us to identify gender bias in all warps of life, from the workplace to schools, communities, colleges, universities and more.

We asked women at Neg Earth their thoughts on working in the live events industry. Touching on their favourite thing about the industry, their biggest challenges and asking for their suggestions on how the industry should improve for women.

‘We need more male allies,’ meet Pip Ridgway, Managing Director at Neg Earth Lights.

What’s your favourite thing about working in the industry?
Seeing the final result. After months of planning, you’re finally at the show, the house lights go down, you look around and you feel the intoxicating anticipation, excitement, and joy of the crowd.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Many might assume it would be rebuilding a company after a fire or leading a company through a pandemic. I believe working to be accepted as more than just ‘the girlfriend’ gave me the resilience and sense of purpose needed to overcome fires and pandemics.

What needs to change to improve for women in live music?
We need more male allies; we need the workplace to be more welcoming and we need more women who can give a helping hand to those starting out.

‘There needs to be more representation,’ meet Jasmine Williams, Project Coordinator at Neg Earth Lights.

What’s your favourite thing about working in the industry?
My favourite thing about working in the industry is the level of creativity involved in designing, planning, and executing a live event. It’s great to be around the interesting people that make it happen and I love seeing an event we’ve done knowing that I helped in some way.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
I think being a young woman especially, it’s difficult to be taken seriously and you do have to end up working twice as hard at times to receive the same recognition. Luckily people are becoming more aware of this, and I have noticed improvements in some environments.

What needs to improve for women in live music?
There needs to be more representation including women of colour and for men to seek out a wider knowledge of how to interact appropriately with women on the job, assuming they know what they’re doing unless asked otherwise for example. I’ve seen women in higher roles recruit other women which is great, and I hope that continues.

‘More women!’ Meet Bernice Roust, Technician at Neg Earth Lights.

What’s your favourite thing about working in the industry?
It’s Rock and Roll we have a long tradition of work hard play hard.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
There are always challenges, the engineering ones are often difficult, but we always will succeed, other ones will be dealt with as is best possible, someone will provide the support needed.

What needs to improve for women in live music?
More women! We are a little underrepresented, but here at least we are respected. We need women technicians, women crew and more women in the industry all together.

‘We are not groupies!’ Meet Stephanie Smyth, Inventory Coordinator at Neg Earth Lights.

1) What’s your favourite thing about working in the industry?
Not doing the same thing as everyone else. Being in a niche industry that’s sole purpose is to wow and delight fans.

2) What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Realizing that women have a place here and that the men DO want us here as well! Many roles in this industry are manual labour based so it is important to let our teams/ crew know what we are capable of and not confuse intended chivalry with machismo. While calling out machismo-isms when we see them too! When you are pulling your own weight and are a part of the team, this really doesn’t take long.

3) What needs to improve for women in live music?
The perception that a woman backstage is a groupie. (Cue the I time I once caught a group of girls look at me and say, “OMG, look at her, honestly, who brings a spanner to a gig?”)

End.