The Women in AV (WAVE) and The Kari Martinez organisations have published the results of their landmark 2020 Women + Girls in AV Survey, which has been hailed by WAVE founder Jennifer Willard as “a game-changing moment for all women working in the AV industry and another huge win for advancing gender equality in technology industries”.
The survey, described by the organisations as the industry’s ‘first data gathering research focused on creating a baseline of the female representation working in the AV Industry’, saw 506 professional women participate. Their responses provided key insights into four major statistical categories of human demographics, industry statistics, passions and preferences, and women’s advancement. The survey produced several major conclusions about females in the AV Industry, including:
- 80 per cent are White/Caucasian and 92 percent live in either USA or Europe.
- 67 per cent “Fell Into It” as their career path into the AV Industry.
- 58 per cent hold non-technical positions
Respondents identified leadership, career advancement, and technical training as the top three areas of professional growth they want more future opportunities made available.
“This is a thrilling, game-changing moment for all women working in the AV industry and another huge win for advancing gender equality in technology industries,” commented Jennifer Willard, founder of Women in AV. “For the first time, we truly have meaningful data about who our female colleagues are around the world, what we do, and where to develop effective career training initiatives to improve our professional skills and inspire more women and young girls to be excited about joining us as Women in AV.”
The data results appeared to confirm some presumptions about unique barriers women face plaguing other STEM and technology fields. However, there were encouraging signs regarding female leadership, being welcomed by male peers, and women working in AV having a global, growing presence – 28 per cent counted male colleagues as their current mentors and teachers, while 51 per cent have started their career in AV within the last 10 years.
Martinez, a live sound engineer and founder of TheKariMartinez.com – an online community hub for women in the industry – said of the findings: “Being fairly new in the industry, I have yet to feel unaccepted from my male colleagues and mentors. They’re the ones who have actually accepted me, taught me most of what I know, and encouraged me to continue.” said Kari Martinez, professional live audio engineer. “With these stats, I think we can see that women feel accepted, the industry is welcoming to young females, and everyone can help contribute to a more inclusive industry.”
The 2020 Women + Girls in AV full report can be accessed at:
Women in AV: http://www.womeninav.com/kmwavesurvey2020
The Kari Martinez: https://www.thekarimartinez.com/the-women-girls-in-av-study
