Queensland women who are looking to entrench their career in the music industry, it's time to crack open your resume because applications are now open for QMusic's Women In Music (WIM) mentoring programme.
The WIM programme is made by women for women, with the goal to create more opportunities for women in today's music industry.
With only 28 per cent of women serving in senior positions in the Australian music industry, according to a recent study by APRA AMCOS and RMIT: '50 per cent of women feel their gender has negatively impacted their career' compared to '1 per cent of men'.
The eight successful applicants will be mentored by industry specialists in areas of change management, public speaking, marketing, tourism, and export management.
“Our industry is undergoing rapid change and providing support for women to be at the forefront of remaking the music business is not just a good thing to do, but something that will make us stronger as we welcome a broader range of skills, opinions and experiences into the tapestry of what supports Australian music,” QMusic General Manager Kim Pengelly says.
WIM mentors L-R: Pushpa Bakshi, Karen Schmidt, Lindy Chen, Jill Brennan, Kayleen Allen, Cathy James. Image © Vonne Bobongie
The programme has the backing of the Queensland State Government. Minister for Employment and Small Business, Shannon Fentiman says WIM is a welcome addition.
"You can’t be what you can’t see,” Shannon says, “so having more women supporting each other through participation in a focused mentoring programme for the music business will encourage more women to give it a go... [and] enhance their business capability.”
WIM is intended to not only provide candidates with the resources they need, but also much-needed networking opportunities and skill improvement sessions.
Successful mentees will become music industry front runners of the future. It's very much an 'act now, save the future' programme.
