BY MANUS HOPKINS
THE POWER OF
Women in Music
A Roundtable Discussion with Women in Music Canada Executive Director Robyn Stewart , Canadian Federation of Musicians Executive Director Liana White , Honey Jam Founder and Director Ebonnie Rowe , and Juno Award-Winning Producer and Songwriter Hill Kourkoutis .
A
little while back , before the holidays , NWC , publisher of Canadian Musician , hosted a webinar entitled The Power of Women in Music . It ’ s a broad topic , this idea , and one that can be endlessly delved into , essentially impossible to cover in full no matter the length of the conversation . Still , we were able to round up a small group of the best possible people to weigh in on a variety of questions , discussion points , and issues related to women in music and in the music industry . We were lucky to be joined by Women in Music Canada Executive Director Robyn Stewart , Canadian Federation of Musicians Executive Director Liana White , Honey Jam Founder and Director Ebonnie Rowe , and Juno Award-winning producer and songwriter Hill Kourkoutis . With Stewart spearheading the discussion and asking questions to the other participants , the group covered a wide breadth of topics in the span of just an hour . To put everything in print would take up practically this entire issue , so here are some highlights . The entire conversation can be heard at nwcwebinars . com .
This discussion has been edited for length and clarity .
RS
Stewart : Can you tell me , for you , what the importance of having a more equitable and culturally diverse industry means to you ?
Rowe : It means having more opportunity ; it means removing bar-
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riers to entry , real and perceived . It means balance . It means having a say and a seat at the table , and an opportunity to influence decisions that are going to impact all of us . I think that regardless of the numbers and some of the disappointing statistics out there , if it ’ s something that you want to do , you shouldn ’ t be discouraged .
You just have to break through whatever the barriers are , and make sure that you take whatever place it is that you would like to have at the table . And then when you get there , what ’ s really crucial is to lift as you rise and help to make space for others . So that it ’ s not just you holding that place .
RS
Stewart : Hill , we ’ re gonna come to you next . You work in a lot of areas , including music production . And I would say this is an area that ’ s very discrepant , in terms of balance . For you , in your circle and your world , what is your why ? What is the most important piece about why we need to see equity in bigger ways ?
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