FEATURE:
Stacking the Decks
IN THIS PHOTO: Peggy Gou/PHOTO CREDIT: Jakub Michal Teringa
Why a Controversial and Male-Heavy DJ Mag Bias Needs Correcting
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IT is not quite the same…
IN THIS PHOTO: Charlotte de Witte
with artists in terms of gender inequality. Festivals are still bad when it comes to line-ups. Women not booked as headliners as much as they should be. I do find it troubling that an industry that is dominated by women does not show them enough respect and opportunity. Festivals are very slow to correct. Radio playlists too. Although life for D.J.s is even worse. I do think this is another side of the industry that is defined by women. So many incredible women are uniting crowds around the world. I am not picking on DJ Mag specifically, though they are this huge magazine that was founded in 1991. This is a British magazine dedicated to Electronic Dance music and D.J.s. As it celebrates thirty-five years, you have to wonder why most of their D.J. of the years go to men. In fact the only time a woman has been awarded this honour is Smokin Jo. That was in 1992, one year after the magazine was founded. I am aware of this because Smokin Jo recently appeared in Talk ‘90s to Me. This is a podcast hosted by Miranda Sawyer. Various guests talk about different things from the decade. It was wonderful discovering about Smokin Jo, as I had heard about her, but I did not know much about her career. Since 1992, there has been huge imbalance in their yearly lists. Naming one-hundred D.J.s to watch each year, 2011 was standout because no women were included. Even in 2025, only five women in the top fifty. One makes the top ten. That is Charlotte de Witte at seven. As the polling for this year closes on 16th September, it does bringing this urgency to mind. How women are still overlooked. Only a solitary named D.J. of the year is startling!
Perhaps their metrics are based around commercial appeal. How much money they have made, streaming figures and the like. If you take it on merit and the skill of the D.J., can we realistically say that no women since 1992 have been eligible as the best D.J. Looking through the top one-hundred lists through the years and the same issue occurs. Women are being included more, though very few make it into the higher positions. I have covered so many amazing women on this blog. Some of the best D.J.s in the world. Including Charlotte de Witte. The supreme Carly Wilford is definitely one of the greatest D.J.s in the world. Alison Wonderland, Amelie Lens and Deborah de Luca are all worthy of the title. I also think that Charlotte de Witte is more than worthy of that crown. Also, the top one-hundred lists are not exactly broad regarding race. Smokin Jo a Black female D.J. taking the top prize in 1992 shows there have been steps back since then. Though there is nothing as shambolic as a women-free top one-hundred, the figures are not exactly reassuring. You cannot say there is a lack of visibility. These queens are slaying around the world. So many have huge Instagram followings and release their own music. DJ Mag does cover women and does profiles, so their readers are well aware of who is out there and coming through. You do feel the D.J. of the year for 2026 is going to be a man. Thirty-five years and not a massive amount of progress. You cannot blame DJ Mag entirely. I do feel that most people feel men are the best D.J.s and they are the ones who are delivering the best sets and are the most important. That could not be further from the truth. In terms of quality and promise, you are spoiled for choice. Lilly Palmer and Hannah Laing are D.J.s I have spotlighted. Other names like Linska and Olive F. Arielle Free. There are so many out there, and yet these lists reflect men in the industry.
Whether you feel D.J.s are worthy in terms of their online following, the size of their sets, the years they have been in the game or whatever, it does seem to be a somewhat outdated and ignorant framework. Think about the talent and passion that so many incredible D.J. queens deliver. I have put out a few names. Peggy Gou another incredible and world-class D.J. I feel that, when DJ Mag announce their one-hundred names for this year, maybe five or six women in the top fifty; one or two in the top twenty; perhaps one woman cracking the top ten. The number one slot will be taken by a man. If that projection comes true, this means that thirty-five years after they were founded. DJ Mag still would have named one woman as their DJ of the year. Even that it is not indicative od the entire industry, it does seem to highlight this male bias. I don’t think DJ Mag are excluding women. They highlight them. Yet, when their readers decide which D.J.s are the best in the world, the massive majority seems to be men. In a larger sense, festival bills are still skewed to men. Women not given as much prominence and their dues. And yet, in my mind, the majority of the most dedicated, incredible, talented and awe-inspiring D.J.s are women. That is just a fact! I would like to think that a publication as respected and lauded as DJ Mag would see its voting readers reverse the trend. That a few women are in the top ten. Making the top five and, let’s hope, being named as the absolute best. It takes me back to Talk '90s to Me and Smokin Jo. Her story. Perhaps a bittersweet honour of being the solitary female D.J. of the year.
IN THIS PHOTO: Linska
One would have hoped this pioneering would have led to change and greater visibility for women. Even if things are not as bleak as years past, I don’t think it is the case that there are far fewer female Electronic D.J.s that means men dominate lists. It is depressing. One cannot also say women are not bothered by such lists and polls. It is recognition that they are largely not part of. There are not big award ceremonies for D.J.s as there are artists. Music websites and magazines focus on artists, so it is down to these specialist magazines to shine a light on the talent out there. You can vote now: “Now in its 33rd year, Top 100 DJs launched in 1993 as an editorially curated list of 100 DJs created to mark the 100th issue of DJ Magazine. Since then, it has grown into the world’s largest publicly voted music poll and an annual snapshot of the artists shaping electronic music worldwide. With no nominations or eligibility criteria, Top 100 DJs remains a fully open poll, allowing voters to nominate any five DJs regardless of their profile or audience size”. I don’t genuinely believe the top one-hundred lists each year reflect real-world popularity and talent. So, in a year where women are absolutely killing it and are standing aside from their male peers, that this is reflected by readers of DJ Mag. If so, it means that equality and changing the dialogue becomes normalised and it has impact throughout the industry. As it stands, I do fear that big steps will not be taken…
FOR quite a few years to come.