Do We Really Want to Keep the Gate Threshold That High?

Brooks G, Pras A, Elafros A, Lockett M. Do We Really Want to Keep the Gate Threshold That High? J Audio Eng Soc. 2021;69(4):238-260. doi:10.17743/jaes.2020.0074

@article{Brooks2021_21032,
  author = {Brooks, Grace and Pras, Amandine and Elafros, Athena and Lockett, Monica},
  title = {{Do We Really Want to Keep the Gate Threshold That High?}},
  journal = {Journal of the Audio Engineering Society},
  volume = {69},
  number = {4},
  pages = {238--260},
  year = {2021},
  month = apr,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  doi = {10.17743/jaes.2020.0074},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2020.0074}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Do We Really Want to Keep the Gate Threshold That High?
AU  - Brooks, Grace
AU  - Pras, Amandine
AU  - Elafros, Athena
AU  - Lockett, Monica
T2  - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
J2  - J. Audio Eng. Soc.
VL  - 69
IS  - 4
SP  - 238
EP  - 260
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/04/06
DO  - 10.17743/jaes.2020.0074
UR  - https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2020.0074
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Drawing upon the survey instruments of Lewis and Neville [1], Nadal [2], and Yang and Carroll [3], we conducted an online survey that captured experiences of discrimination and microaggressions reported by 387 recording engineers, producers, and studio assistants living in 46 different countries. Our statistical analyses reveal highly significant and systemic gender inequalities within the field, e.g., cisgender women experience many more sexually inappropriate comments (p < e-14, large effect size) and unwanted comments about their physical appearance (p < e-12, large effect size) than cisgender men, and they are much more likely to face challenges to their authority (p < e-13, large effect size) and expertise (p < e-10, large effect size). A comparison of our results with a study about women’s experiences of microaggressions within STEM academia [3] indicates that the recording studio workplace scores 33% worse on the silencing and marginalization of women, 33% worse on gender-related workplace microaggressions, and 24% worse on sexual objectification. These findings call for serious reflection on the part of the community to progress from awareness to collective action that will unlock the control room for women and other historically and systemically marginalized groups of studio professionals.
ER  -