Two DJs performing at a music festival at night, viewed from behind as they face a large crowd.

UK Musicians’ Union tools on gender: a compilation

In 2023, the UK government passed a new law to strengthen protection from workplace sexual harassment. This Worker Protection Bill, which amends the Equality Act from 2010 and will come into force in October 2024, will impose a new legal duty on an employer to take “reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.” 

But all these very well-intentioned policies and fair regulations collide with the reality of the music business. Is it more difficult to protect women (please note that the resources use the term “women”, rather than “FLINTA*”, so we will do this here, too) from sexual harassment when it happens backstage? Do women face abuse more often when they work late at night, at crowded music festivals, surrounded by male-dominated teams? Are NDAs silencing women, when these kinds of agreements were created to protect abusers? Experience suggests that the answer is “yes.” 

And even if it’s not about plain abuse or harassment, working in the music business creates more difficulties for women: being pregnant or breastfeeding are no easy tasks when working after hours. 

Bearing in mind that “there are various challenges female musicians face, such as lack of representation, sexism and sexual harassment, issues connected to child care and maternity rights” and that “navigating the music industry as a woman has its specific challenge,” the UK Musicians’ Union is developing very concrete tools, codes of conduct and policies that support female professionals in the industry. 

The union’s Women in Music area offers: 


Further, the Union created ‘The Music Sector Code of Practice’ in partnership with the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM). The goal is “to tackle and prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination in the music sector,” while setting out principles “to help employers meet their legal requirements, and present a shared vision for promoting and maintaining a positive working culture.” In its simplicity, this list of principles to tackle and prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination is a golden standard that any organisation which aims to protect its workers can easily adhere to, like: 


Of course, fostering a safe and equal environment is the main goal, but if reports are made, this code of practice also compiles a set of best practices, like: 

Photo Credit: UK Musicians’ Union

On this matter, the Musicians’ Union’s ‘For the Love of Music – Ending Sexual Harassment in the Music Industry’ report is clear: “sexual harassment is widespread in the music industry.” The MU’s Deputy General Secretary, Naomi Pohl, introduces the results of the report explaining how in 2018, the MU “set up a Safe Space service for musicians to confidentially report instances of sexual harassment in the music industry.” 

Through hundreds of reports, the Union learnt that “harassment occurs in a wide variety of workplaces and that the freelance nature of the workforce in music, late night working and informal working environments such as tour buses, pubs and bars, means our members are particularly at risk.” One year later, a survey with the testimonies of almost 800 musicians revealed that “sexual harassment is an all too frequent occurrence for musicians at all levels of their careers.” 

With the goal of preventing sexual harassment, which is still “a challenge for all of society” and depends on a “wholesale cultural change,” the Union is optimistic, though. According to them, the industry is adapting and “inappropriate behaviour is far more likely to be challenged now than it was (some) years ago” when their first inquiries were conducted. Even the UK Parliament has recognized the importance of the topic and issued a year-long inquiry on ‘Misogyny in Music’, which just revealed their conclusions and has been sent to the government to ask for legislative steps that can be taken to tackle some of these concerns, especially to protect freelance workers (read more on ‘Misogyny in Music’ here).

To help music companies create a safer, more inclusive, and more egalitarian environment, the Musicians’ Union also offers advice on topics such as ‘Developing a Sexual Harassment Policy,’ or guidance on ‘Appropriate Behaviour at Work’, which is a practical guide for freelance musicians to challenge inappropriate conducts and promote good practice. The value of all these tools is that they are developed with a highly skilled eye for actual legislation and current regulations, while being aware of how specific working in the music industry can be. While of course these documents are based on UK laws, they are incredibly valuable to set the standards of how highly professionalised codes of conduct and tailored policies could and should look like in each country.