Music

Throughout history, there have been many women who have made lasting marks on the music industry.

The first woman to ever win a Grammy was Ella Fitzgerald in 1959. While she was the first female artist that the awards show recognized, she was most certainly not the last. Notably, women like Aretha Franklin, Adele and Beyoncé followed and are now credited with winning several Grammy awards each.

However, the history of women in music goes back much further than the creation of the Grammys. As early as the 1800s, many women took to writing songs and small hymns, but felt pressured to publish them under a different name so as not to reveal their gender.

Many female artists, unfortunately, have had to face a lot of sexism and discrimination within their careers. The inequality in the music industry is something that women have had to overcome for hundreds of years. In more recent years, artists have come out about the struggles they have faced with sexism within their work and the impact it has had on their mental health. Over time, women have been able to find more support, and artists, such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, have worked especially hard to use their platforms to bring awareness to the toxicity that women face when working in the music industry.

During March, it is important to appreciate the women in the music industry and the legacies they have created.