In many African cultures, women have long played a vital role in sacred music, using their voices to communicate with the divine. In most traditional societies, they are often the guardians of sacred music and responsible for preserving and passing down ancient songs, dances, and rituals. For example, in Yoruba culture, women are known as keepers of the sacred music of Orishas. In Zulu culture, they play an important role in the traditional music and the Reed Dance Ceremony.

Despite the many contributions to the world’s musical heritage, women's voices in African music are often overlooked or marginalized.

According to the 2024 BE THE CHANGE: Gender Equity in Music Study, “It is hard to be a female creator, and it is extra hard to be an artist of color but being a female artist of color is harder still.”

This underrepresentation does not only come in the sense of lack of inclusion or pay gaps, it can also be seen in the documentation of women-based genres like Waka music from Nigeria and others across Africa.

Despite their significant contributions to African music, women have historically faced many challenges. From sexism, inequality, pay gaps, and harassment, to gender discrimination, they are often denied a fair shot in the industry, sometimes relegated to secondary roles or to bend to traditional expectations.

Having seen women breaking down barriers from the Beninese singer, Angelique Kidjo putting Africa on the map with her Grammy-winning runs, South Africa’s Miriam Makeba and Brenda Fassie dominating the male-dominated industry all through the 1950s to the 1990s, Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage performing at King Charles’ coronation, there has been a surge of female talent in the industry.

Aside from women’s significant rise in the male-dominated hip-hop genre, in 2017, the album 'Nakamura' by Aya Nakamura housed three double-diamond certified tracks. By 2017, Yemi Alade’s 2014 hit song 'Johnny,' held the record for the highest number of views for a Nigerian music video on YouTube before being overtaken by Tekno’s Pana.

Ayra Starr's 2021 single 'Bloody' Samaritan garnered over 80 million streams. Nigerian songwriter-singer Bloody Civilian, on the other hand, contributed to the soundtrack 'Natural Mystic' for Bob Marley: One Love, a biographical film about the life of the reggae legend.

In 2022, Tems became the first Nigerian artist in history to have a number-one debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her feature on American singer Futures ‘Wait For You’.

American-Ghanaian singer-songwriter Amaarae’s 2023 ‘Fountain Baby' has amassed over one billion streams across DSPs. Amaarae was selected as an opening act on tours by her American counterparts Sabrina Carpenter and Childish Gambino.

In 2024, South African prodigy, Tyla, won the inaugural Grammy award for Best African Music Performance with her hit single ‘Water’. In the same year, she accumulated other international nominations the Best International Song at the BRITS Awards, Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, Best New Artist, Best International Act, and Viewer’s Choice Awards in the 2024 BET Awards where she won two out of four nominations.

As we look to the future, it is clear that African female creatives are on the rise. And with the recent meta-analytic examination of the gender difference in creative performance by the Journal of Applied Psychology, it is obvious that women’s creative ability is not an issue but a lack of intentional effort in the industry, to push gender inclusion.

Initiatives like Women in Music, whose sole aim is to increase women’s visibility in the music industry through education, empowerment, and recognition, help provide opportunities for networking and collaborations.

As we look to tackle the artistic part of this inclusion problem, we also consider other aspects of the creative business. The engineering and production areas in the industry have always had a severely low representation of women.

Spotify’s “African Heat,” the platform’s leading playlist for African music, features 50 songs — yet none of the credited producers are women. This reflects a broader trend in the music industry, where women, especially producers, struggle for recognition.

With women and girls representing half of the world’s population, it is important to note that gender equality and systemic efforts to advance gender will be the driving force to achieve full human potential.

From sacred traditions to contemporary genres, the African woman’s contribution is woven into the continent’s musical heritage. By celebrating our women creatives and fostering inclusion, we can create a more inclusive and equitable industry that values talent irrespective of gender. And with diversity, we can reach our full potential, without leaving half of humanity continuously sidelined.

The blog post cover for the blog titled Women Creatives The Unheard Voice.

Women Creatives: The Unheard Voices

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