As a female studio recording engineer and a electronic music maker, I am often asked why there are so few women working in the field of studio engineering. This can be both interesting and tiresome as it is a question that demands to be explored but it is also sometimes a bit too much responsibility to be expected to be able to answer for the gross under representation of my gender behind the glass.

I have looked into this issue for both my own curiosity and also to be better equipped when answering to other enquiring minds. I am somewhat surprised by the statistics. Latest research I have found estimates that women account for only five per cent of studio recording engineers. Why should this be?

I can tell you now it is not rocket science. Sure mastering music requires a very firm grasp of acoustics and frequencies and highly tuned ear. But a regular studio recording engineer? Well, quite frankly I have come across many mediocre professional sound engineers who are male. Most of the job role requires sticking a microphone in front of an instrument or person. Connecting that signal to a recorder, most often a computer. And pressing record. Of course this is crudely put, but as I explained to a BBC radio presenter one day in an interview if you can work a microwave or a mobile phone you can probably get your head round most recording studio equipment and signal chains. If you want to.

And this is the more important aspect of the issue here. Many jobs that demand skill and knowledge are occupied by women. OK, perhaps not technology or science but a recording studio does not have to be such a complicated system to get the hang of. There is a logic involved and a systematic approach that once learned and practiced can be applied with relative ease. And sound engineering is not just a science anyway – it is also an art. And a people skills job. Why, I would go as far to say that given women’s conditioning, we are well equipped to be good listeners, midwives for the artist or client’s wishes and I often find myself acting in a nurturing manner to help clients achieve their best performance (especially vocalists for whom the studio environment is new and perhaps a bit uncomfortable).

In the live sound industry there are more women apparently. And this is a much more physical job with much less social hours including tours that can last for weeks and months at a time. Working in a studio environment, the job can be sedentary and certainly not physically demanding. And as a freelance you can exercise some control over your working hours. So, inconvenient working hours and physical strength is not the issue here. Even access to training is not really necessary – I know of plenty of female music producers and studio engineers who have no qualifications in this field, but have just learned how to do it because they wanted to.

I think the only conclusion I can come to which can begin to explain the lack of women working behind the mixing desk is confidence. It is a question of confidence. You have to believe in yourself, not be intimidated by techy talk as you are starting nor be intimidated by other perhaps more capable male colleagues. Actually I have found that 99 percent of professional male engineers I have worked with have not projected any sexist attitudes, although I did have to battle to earn respect at sound engineering school.

Talking about the problem gets tiresome. Exploring the solutions are much more interesting for me. Initiatives like Womens Audio Mission in the US are Smart Women’s recording Club in London great. And increasing the visibility of female music producers and recording engineers is more productive than highlighting what we are not doing. As one person once so neatly described to me: “Girls don’t think of it as an option”. Well it is, and it is a really fun job where you are paid to learn more about music, especially if you are a largely self-taught creative music and electronic music maker like me.