New Study Reveals Women Are Underrepresented in Country Music

Madison Bloom
Research from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative highlights a sizable gap between male and female country artists in terms of chart performance, songwriting credits, and more

A new study conducted by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has revealed how drastically underrepresented female artists are in country music. The research brief examines 500 songs on the Year-End Billboard Hot Country charts from 2014 to 2018, as well as results from the previous five years of the Academy of Country Music Awards. Read the full report here.

The data shows that out of 500 of the top country songs from 2014-2018, only 16% were performed by female artists. Among top performers in the genre, the study concluded that male artists appeared on the charts at least twice as many times as female artists did during the five year sample period. The study also assessed longevity for both genders, and revealed that the average age for top performing male solo artists was 42. The average age for female artists of the same stature was 29.

Additionally, the study found that across 200 songs on the country charts between 2014 and 2018, only 12% were written by women. During that same time period, only 15% of the Academy of Country Music Awards nominees across four, non-gender specific categories (Entertainer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Duo of the Year, Group of the Year) were women.

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