Girls Rock
Girls Rock is an organization whose mission statement is to, “Generate Support And Funding For Girls Rock Camps, Which Help Girls Develop Life Skills, Creative Expression And Collaboration Through Music.” The camp works to empower young girls and women develop their musical voice and power by teaching the campers an instrument and forming a band that will perform and original song at the cessation of the camp session. Girls Rock is supported by major music industry powerhouses such as Spotify and Universal Music Group. The foundation is additionally supported by Windows, Showtime, Yoko Ono, Tegan and Sara and other prominent names. The funding donated to Girls Rock goes into camp renovations and making it accessible to girls of all social backgrounds. The camp began in 2001 in Portland, OR, Brooklyn, NY, and Murfreesboro, TN, then spread across the world to Europe and even South America. The camp now has specialized sessions per genre or musical desire.
Women in Music
Women in music is the largest non-profit catering to female empowerment in the music industry. Their mission statement projects their desire to “advance the awareness, equality, diversity, heritage, opportunities, and cultural aspects of women in the musical arts” which they do through an a wide array of interactive mediums. Women in music has chapters established worldwide from LA to Romania to Barbados, each chapter holds local events that further embody their mission such as networking events, webinars, performance showcases and panels. Women in music is responsible for completing “the first study in the U.S exploring the socioeconomic landscape of women in the American Music Industry” along with the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship, and Berklee Office of Institutional Research and Assesment. These studies can help the global community understand the disparities in gender within the music industry and can further help women build even stronger grounds for recognition in their field.
Girlschool
Girlschool is founded was founded by Anna Bulbrook who is a recording and touring violinist who has worked alongside the likes of Vampire Weekend and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Her goal in creating Girlschool was to alleviate the lack of women she saw in her experiences as touring artist. It began in 2016 as a women centered music festival and the key here is that these women were not just artists but stage managers and other behind the stage positions. Now Girlschool has now expanded into an “empowering and interdisciplinary community of excellent women-identified artists, leaders, and voices” some of these voices include Fiona Apple and Carrie Brownstein. In a world where large festivals are male centered and male headlined, Girlschool works to bring women into a space where they can be seen, empowered, and supported.
