IDEA Resource Hub
NIVA’s IDEA Committee has compiled this directory to support member organizations in advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) across the live entertainment industry. This resource is intended to serve as a practical and evolving reference for venues, promoters, festivals, and industry professionals seeking to foster more equitable and inclusive practices. Whether you're in the early stages or looking to strengthen existing initiatives, the materials provided here offer guidance, tools, and strategies to inform and inspire meaningful progress.
We invite you to explore the directory, engage with the content, and integrate these resources into your organizational practices as we work together to create a more inclusive and accessible industry for all.
12 Questions Board Members Should Ask To Foster Diversity
Nonprofit boards have traditionally had a difficult time achieving inclusivity. Even when boards appoint a member, of a previously not represented group, it is a challenge to welcome and integrate him or her into the workings of the group. Here are 12 other questions you can ask to create better inclusivity.
Calling All Crows
Calling All Crows creates campaigns that harness the power of music to address pressing social issues and to create long-term systemic change. We are building a feminist and just music industry by training artists, venues, and fans in sexual violence prevention and inclusion practices. With more than 15 years of education, service, advocacy, and fundraising, we’ve become a recognized partner and pipeline for social movement building.
Women in Music
Women in Music is an organization with a mission to advance the awareness, equality, diversity, heritage, opportunities, and cultural aspects of women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment, and recognition. From LA to Japan, our members are a diverse group of individuals at all stages in their careers — from students to seasoned industry veterans.
Women in Audio
Curated by SoundGirls, this is a collection of industry directories highlighting organizations, resources, and groups that support women, non-binary people and people of color in music and audio. It’s designed to connect people with communities, opportunities, and support networks across the industry in order to empower the next generation of women in audio.
What's the Difference Between Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity?
The often-used terms diversity, equity, and inclusion have distinct meanings. People get tripped up not only on definitions, but also on using these terms to create goals and action plans for themselves and their organizational culture. There is no better time to dig deep and establish shared, fundamental understandings to build truly supportive and effective workplaces.
Shesaid.so
Shesaid.so is a global independent community of women and gender nonconforming people in the music industry. The shesaid.so community consists of women, gender nonconforming people and ALLIES from all sectors of the music industry: from record labels, artist management companies, and booking agencies, through to technology platforms, creative agencies, composers, artists and more.
Music Forward Foundation Volunteering
Volunteer with Music Forward and join our mission of transforming young lives, inspiring careers, and championing a more inclusive music industry. Help redefine what’s possible for the next generation of music industry leaders and innovators by sharing your insight, knowledge and skills at programs and events that connect passions to professions.
Gender Amplified: CTRL Room Series
The Ctrl Room Series, powered by Gender Amplified, Inc. and the Warner Music Group Social Justice Fund, is a music production camp designed to bring incredible women-identifying and non-binary producers, songwriters and other creatives together with the intention of making great music, networking and learning in community.
Gender Amplified: Volunteer
Volunteer! We’d love to get to know you better! Gender Amplified embraces passionate and driven producers, songwriters, audio engineers, and everyone in between aiming to build a more equitable future in the music industry. There are many ways to get involved!
How to Identify Unconscious Gender Bias in Job Ads
Using previous academic research from The University of Waterloo and Duke University which outlined a series of male and female gender-coded words, we analysed 76,929 job adverts over a six week period to assess the frequency of gender-coded words in UK recruitment.
13 Common Hiring Biases
Unfortunately, there is nowhere more apparent where our unconscious bias plays out than during the recruitment process; when recruiters are told time and again to ‘trust your gut’ – to rely on and make decisions based on our intuition. But as you’ll discover later on, intuition is based on, yup, you guessed it, unconscious bias.
Women in the US Music Industry: Obstacles and Opportunities
This report presents the results from a survey designed to examine the socioeconomic landscape of women working in the music industry across the United States. The survey was designed to build upon existing research on inclusion in the music industry and asked questions about demographics, employment, career challenges, and job satisfaction among women.
100% Her
Universal Production Music has digitally released "100% Her," a new production music album featuring tracks composed, mixed, and mastered by women. "100% Her” is a collaborative effort between Universal Production Music and Shesaid.so, an international and diverse network of women within the music industry. The initiative was also supported by She Is The Music, a global non-profit working to increase the number of women in music.
NIVA IDEA Committee
The purpose of the IDEA committee is to create and share resources for members to use in their efforts to work toward greater equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility; to amplify initiatives launched by other groups and organizations within the entertainment industry; and encourage venues, promoters, and festivals to prioritize and support IDEA work and initiatives within their businesses and communities.
She Is The Music
SITM is a nonprofit organization increasing the number of women working in music – songwriters, engineers, producers, artists and industry professionals. We are an independent, global network that operates as a unifying organization for women from across the industry, creating strength and impact on a global scale. As an umbrella nonprofit, we also provide resources and support for women-focused initiatives that are working to create meaningful change – both through our own programs, as well as external efforts around the world.
Safebar Alliance
SafeBar Alliance provides education and bystander intervention training to participating bars and drinking establishments, and strengthens relationships that prioritize community safety. Its goal is to keep both bar staff and patrons safer from predatory behavior, harassment, and sexual assault.
Location: Kansas, remote trainings available
Why Is It So Hard to Speak Up at Work?
Psychological safety is the belief that you can take risks and put forward ideas without facing ridicule or retaliation. More often than not, it’s women — especially women of color — who don’t feel comfortable doing so.
Inclusive Hiring Practices: Tipsheet
Practical tips and resources for independent venues, promoters and festivals, curated by NIVA's DEI Taskforce
The Show Must Be Paused
Our mission is to hold accountable the industry at large, including major corporations and their partners, who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people. It is the obligation of these entities to protect and empower the Black communities that have made them disproportionately wealthy in ways that are measurable and transparent. If you are an owner of a music company or business, consider implementing some or all of #TheShowMustBePaused Action Items.
Diversity and Inclusion in the Music and Audio Industry
A list of organizations working on Diversity and Inclusion in the Music and Audio Industry, provided by Soundgirls.