Female Representation in US Music Hits Decade High

Despite progress, women still underrepresented in the industry, says USC Annenberg report.

According to the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative annual report, the share of female artists involved in last year’s biggest chart hits in the US has increased to 35%, the highest it has been for any year going back to 2012.
In 2023, 40.6% of chart spots were occupied by individual female artists, an improvement from 34.8% in 2022. Female songwriters increased from 14.1% to 19.5%.
There was also an increase for women of colour, with 55 receiving a songwriting credit in 2023 up from 33 the year prior.
Despite the progress, women filled less than one-quarter of artist roles across all 12 years examined, and these figures are still far from representing the 50% of women in the population and the music audience.
The upcoming Grammys feature a female-dominated list of nominations, led by SZA, Victoria Monét and Phoebe Bridgers.