Women 'underrepresented' in music

Women have been found to be hugely underrepresented in the music industry, new research has revealed.

A study by UK Feminista discovered that two-thirds of the acts at Glastonbury this year were by all-male acts and performances by men outnumbered those by women 6:1.

And as the BBC Proms gets underway for its summer of concerts this week, the study revealed that only 1.6 per cent of the conductors in the programme are women and just 4.1 per cent of the composers are female, suggesting that the women do not get the exposure men do.

Kat Banyard, director of UK Feminista, commented: 'Women are still the supporting act in British cultural life.

'Culture not only reflects society - but helps shape it, so the fact that women’s creative work is hidden and silenced on such a scale means we have a major problem.'

Research also found that over two-thirds of works at London's major art galleries are by men.

The research was compiled as part of Women's Words, an event celebrating women in the arts.