After over a century with the right to vote in the UK, ‘girl power’ has led to innumerable positive strides towards a powerful female presence. Women around the globe are fighting for actions and consequently claiming leadership positions in government, business and, of course, music.

Music and women are two subjects that are continuously discussed globally. Combining the two topics, produces international female superstars as such as Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Madonna – to name a few. Yet the music industry has historically been perceived as a male-dominated industry, with 86% of major festival line-ups being men.

As Bono famously once said, “Music can change the world because it can change people.” This creates a myriad of questions regarding the obvious divide between certain rights that men receive in comparison to women that they demand to be answered.

Female celebrities, however, are refusing to hold back their opinions. Many are adamant their voices will be heard, with English singer-songwriter Lily Allen expressing, “The struggle is real,” relating to the lack of female artists on the Wireless 2018 Festival line up (with over fifty plus acts, the only females were Cardi B, Lisa Mercedez and Mabel).

Other popular artists are using their platforms to raise awareness. Annie Mac and lead singer of Wolf Alice, Ellie Rowsell, produced a documentary posing the question, ‘Where Are the Women in Music?’ aiming to explore the significant lack of women in the industry.

Both Rowsell and Mac spoke about their experiences within the industry and Mac expressed “I’ve had many experiences in interviews, where people always ask me - because there’s so few women DJs - ‘what’s it like to be a woman and a DJ? How do you juggle your work-life balance? Can you DJ in heels?’”

In spite of everything, across the UK, independent females are unafraid to take action and to show empowerment. In particular, Bristol, where there has been a roaring underground music scene since the 90’s and the home to the infamous acclaimed ‘Bristol Sound.’ Described as “possessing a darkness that is uplifting, a joyful melancholy” and is characterised by a slow, spaced-out hip hop sound that a number of artists in the early and mid 90’s made synonymous with the city - it continues to flourish throughout the underground music scene today.

Strictly female-only groups as such as ‘Concrete Jungyals’ and ‘Bristol Women in Music’ have made a femme-shaped indent in the Bristol music and culture scene. Such groups have been established with the aim to promote and share the roles, issues as well as successes of women within the music industry. Doing so has created a wide variety of electrifying mixes and sounds, from a number of local female beginner and established DJ’s to pleasure our ears.

Bristol Women in Music recruited local females to host a voluntary eight-week course, ‘Mix Nights’. The course focused on teaching women the skills and techniques required in the exhilarating world of DJing. Ultimately, providing the initial confidence, enabling them to take the leap into the music industry themselves. Empowering, whilst removing the fear of male dominance.

The goal of the course is to hold weekly meetings and for the learners to host their own performance at one of Bristol’s many clubs, ‘The Love Inn,’ in order for them to confidently show off their newly-learnt, fresh and melodious skills.

Abbe Rodgers started the group and bought a vision of utopia in the Bristol club scene. The idea stemmed from a passion for giving female DJ’s more of a ‘stance’ within the music industry, particularly when the majority of festival and club night line ups are predominately male.

This was also the case with Concrete Jungyals, twins Tiffany and Sasha Sefuke, Molly Hannafin and Emilie Luscombe who have found that their female DJ’s have been posted alongside other male DJ’s on a line up and have been singled out as a ‘female takeover act,’ defeating the purpose of their music group. Their residency on radio station 1020 Radio and crew slots at festivals as such as Love Saves the Day and Boomtown proves that they couldn’t be further than just a ‘female takeover act.’ Concrete Jungyals have taken the Bristol music scene by storm with DJ’s and producers as such as Kiia, LCY and Asterix.

They further utilise their platform – specifically, Instagram – to promote body confidence and not feeling threatened by the judgement of others. One caption on the collective’s Instagram read ‘If you wanna flaunt what your mama gave you then that is your prerogative!

Another fantastic Bristol-based artist who explores women throughout her work, is illustrator and graphic designer Amy Glover. The artist doesn’t just have her edgy and rave-inspired visuals portrayed behind the DJ decks at some of Bristol's clubs, but alongside all her simplistic yet endearing designs, Glover’s work features women wearing vibrant streetwear clothing and she manifests her art into promoting a powerful message against sexual harassment.

Amy named the project ‘PASS THE POWER’ and it was designed as a reaction to the problem of sexual harassment particularly in music events as such as club nights and festivals. It lists a set of realistic demands to give women more social and public power. The designs have been broken down into four different categories, which comprise of: Spaces, Standards, Sexual Health and Self Worth.

The project began after Amy was inspired, from thematic and visual points of views, by the collaged works of feminist artists: Linda Sterling and Martha Rosler. Both of the aforementioned artists used photomontages to express how women are commodities: domestic slaves and sexual objects.

Due to Concrete Jungyals mostly working in club and festival environments, Amy’s project perfectly represents the sexual harassment that can occur in these settings.

Sadly, sexism within music is unquestionably prevalent. However, with collectives as such as Concrete Jungyals, Bristol Women in Music and amazing female artists as such as Amy Glover, it gives a reassuring glimmer of hope that in the future the divide in the industry will be diminished.

As the common quote says ‘behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back.’ By women sticking together and supporting each other, by continuing to flourish within creative industries, we can put a halt to sexism in the industry, sexual harassment and toxic relationships.

As Ariana Grande once sang, ‘my one, when all is said and done, you’ll believe that God is a woman.’