Women remain significantly underrepresented across the commercial structures shaping music careers, according to a new analysis of more than 500 industry rosters.
The Music’s Gender Parity Index, produced by She Is The Music and ROSTR, found that women represent 29.7% of rostered creators across record labels, publishers, management companies and booking agencies.
The imbalance extends beyond artists and songwriters.
Women account for 26.7% of managers and 25.9% of agents, placing them in the minority on both sides of the relationships determining investment, touring opportunities and long-term career development.
Recent activity suggests progress may have stalled. Women have represented approximately 35% of new representation deals each year since 2023. Their share of new label signings fell from 38.4% in 2023 to 34.3% through July 10, 2026, while women secured only 27.8% of new publishing deals.
The imbalance we see on charts, festival stages and credits starts long before the spotlight—it starts with who gets signed, represented, and backed. – Laura Segura, Executive Director of She Is The Music
The report also identifies 63 qualifying companies and professionals whose rosters contain at least 50% women. Collectively named the 50% Club, they demonstrate that parity is possible across different markets, business models and company sizes.
Among larger organisations, CAA recorded the highest share of women among qualifying agencies at 38.6%, while Universal Music Group led its label category at 34.2% and Concord reached 35.8% among publishers.
Several businesses have moved beyond parity. TBA Agency’s roster is 55.6% women, while Sandbox Entertainment reached 66.7% among management companies. Terrorbird led qualifying publishers with 68.8%.
The report proposes five commitments for companies that sign, represent, employ or invest in creators, with gender parity by 2030 presented as an aspirational benchmark where roster size and turnover make it achievable.
Its findings are based on ROSTR data recorded on July 10, 2026 and are not intended to represent a complete census of the global music business.
The figures make one point difficult to dodge: inequality in music begins before an artist reaches a chart, stage or streaming playlist. Unless companies change who receives contracts, teams and investment, greater visibility alone will not produce structural parity.