FEATURE:
A Brilliant and Much Needed Collaboration with Saffron
IN THIS PHOTO: FKA twigs is launching a new educational grant to get more women into music tech roles, in partnership with non-profit organisation, Saffron/PHOTO CREDIT: Jordan Hemingway
Why FKA twigs’ Initiative Is a Hugely Important Step Forward
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ONE of the most egregious…
IN THIS PHOTO: Catherine Marks in an award-winning producer and engineer who has worked with the likes of boygenius. However, she is one of very few women working in professional studios
aspects of the music industry is how it is left to women in music to make life better for themselves. Creating their own opportunities and tackling a lack of progression. From fighting to be heard on festival line-ups to changing the way modern studios are dominated by men, there is little support from men. Very few men in the industry speaking out and showing their allyship. It would have been nice to have seen more of this before. Men in the industry pledging to affect change. However, the brilliant FKA twigs has announced she is working with a non-profit organisation to address the imbalance when it comes to tech jobs and roles. How young women are very much in the minority. I have some thoughts on it. However, The Forty-Five shared this:
“FKA twigs has announced a new educational grant to get more women into music tech roles, in partnership with non-profit organisation Saffron. The news came as the artist collected her Inspirational Artist award at the Music Week Women In Music Awards in London on Friday – and used her speech to deliver a fierce critique of the industry’s gender imbalance.
Alongside being a creative polymath, Twigs has long been an advocate for change. She hopes the new grant will help support women who are interested in “working at the backbone of the industry – techs, engineers, all of the roles I hope to see more women earning and being successful at in the future”.
Saffron provides hands-on opportunities for women and non-binary people to access music production and sound engineering development through short courses, workshops, mentoring and industry connections. Their vision is a creative landscape where all underrepresented artists can harness technology for full self-expression, disrupting power structures and shaping culture.
Twigs’ speech didn’t shy away from calling out the sexism she’s faced throughout her career.
“When I was a little girl, I would daydream about one day being a music artist, and I would doubt myself,” she said. “I’ve been releasing music now for over 10 years, and to my surprise, those things are actually the easy part. The hard part of being a female singer and producer artist – the part I have found the most challenging – is dealing with men.”
She spoke candidly about navigating “a male-dominated industry rife with unwanted sexual advances and fragile egos,” recalling times she’s had to fight to retrieve her own stems from male producers whose “pride had been bruised.”
“These experiences seeded doubt in me,” she said. “When I’ve told males who are being paid off the back of my talent that I feel unsafe, and I’m told to ‘take the situation with a pinch of salt’, that I ‘need these people for my career’, so I should just ‘play the game back’… No doubt many women in music have had to navigate these situations and obstacles before they even get to lay a finger on a keyboard or touch a computer mouse.”
“If we don’t use our voices collectively to raise these concerns,” she continued, “how do we expect the circumstances to be any different for the next generation of women?”
Her message was backed by stark statistics.
“In the two decades I’ve been in the studio, aside from the sessions where it’s been at my request, I’ve only worked with one female engineer. I’ve met one female head of a label, and no female producers have ever accidentally joined any of my studio sessions. That’s despicable — but not surprising — considering fewer than 5% of professionals in music production are women, and less than 1% of those are women of colour.”
“I wish when I started out, I could have had more women around me — engineers, techs, managers, executives — more support, more advice, more people to hold those accountable who made me feel uncomfortable. Then maybe I wouldn’t have had to navigate so much unnecessary noise.”
Still, she made a point of gratitude too.
“There have been so many incredible men who have supported me with my art behind the scenes, and I’m so grateful to you. I just want more diversity and equal opportunity so that young females can be making it in the music industry across all roles and concentrating on what we’re supposed to be doing — which is making art.”
Next month, Twigs releases ‘Eusexua: Afterglow’, a new body of work that continues the visceral, dance-driven world she began with the Mercury-prize nominated ‘Eusexua’ earlier this year. A reminder, if one were needed, that her power extends far beyond performance – to changing the structures behind it”.
FKA twigs’ words are not unique to her. In terms of women who have faced sexism and having doors closed in their faces. Being in studios and surrounded by men and not seeing many women in tech roles. It is industry bias and a lack of incentive from men to balance things. How, if they feel things are not broken, then they will not be fixed. I am interested to see how her work with Saffron develops and what form it takes. Saffron shared their support and appreciation. They are a record label but also provide tech courses and artist development. A growing community that provides these essential workshops, check out the brilliant work they do. Even though we are seeing tiny steps forward when it comes to tackling inequality and sexism in various corners in the industry, there are others where little or no movement has happened. I have saluted and discussed brilliant women in studios such as producer and engineer, Catherine Marks. There are brilliant women in studios that are still in the minority. It extends beyond that to all tech roles. I still think that women in music are reserved to music itself. When we think of the very best D.J.s, managers, P.R. representatives, executives, tech, engineers and beyond, it is very much men that are mentioned. Even though many women-self produce albums, think of the professional studios and production credits. Most producers men. Even more so when it comes to engineers. FKA twigs is one of many artists whose experiences have led her to fight and call for change. Even if many men are supportive, women coming into music need to see more women around them.
That sense of familiarity and inspiration. If studios, tech roles, boardrooms and all corners of music are male-dominated, then it does not seem like an industry that reflects them and it made for them. The sexism and misogyny that still runs rife through music. Going ahead, I would love to see more men in the industry using their time and name to call for equality and more opportunities for women. Making it easier for women to be more visible and active in roles geared for men. The culture needs to change. FKA twigs’ grant initiative and her work with Saffron will definitely affect movement and change. There needs to be more action and cooperation. It is so angering and disheartening to see these stats when it comes to tech roles and production. I know for a fact how man incredible women work as tour crew and lighting engineers. These incredible women who manage artists and work in P.R. Terrific producers and engineers. The truth is that their voices are not as amplified as their male colleagues. Things have to change. The Women in Music Awards 2025 showcased some incredible talent and truly inspiring women. It should give a kick to the industry. That these brilliant women, whilst in the minority, are being celebrated for a reason. That artists like FKA twigs do not want to see an industry that is so imbalanced and male-heavy when it comes to technical roles. With women dominating music in terms of the best albums released, we need to see more women in these roles where they are still underrepresented. Whilst FKA twigs ended her Women In Music Awards 2025 speech with some gratitude to men who helped her, these words stuck out, with regards to seeing so few women in tech roles and around her when she was coming through: “Then maybe I wouldn’t have had to navigate so much unnecessary noise”. That struggle and experience that she and so many of her peers have faced. It makes her upcoming work with Saffron…
SO important.