A company has analysed the gender balance of various UK festivals. The best was Latitude, which achieved a gender balance of 48.1% women; next up was Glastonbury, with 44.6%.
And then there was Download, home of superannuated rock bands whose commercial and artistic peaks happened decades ago.
14.4%.
That’s all performers. Female artists or bands? Â 2.9%.
Here’s what the poster looks like with the male acts removed.
Pathetic, isn’t it?
It gets worse.
According to festival booker Andy Copping “women like watching bands more than being in them. They just haven’t felt inspired enough to pick up a guitar or be the singer of a rock band.”
There are lots of reasons why women aren’t on big festival stages, but not feeling inspired isn’t one of them. Sexist bookers, on the other hand…