The Silent Struggle: Unsung Women Behind the Soundboard

A Quiet Revolution in Sound

Music, at its core, is a collaborative art. But too often, the accolades are directed only at the performers, while the skilled minds behind the studio glass remain invisible. For women working in the realms of audio engineering, mixing, and production, that invisibility has long been more than metaphorical — it’s institutional. Yet in recent years, a quiet but insistent revolution has been taking hold. A growing number of women are refusing to stay behind the curtain. They’re reshaping how records are made, how they sound, and how the industry views the people behind the board.

Hill Kourkoutis: Making History in Canadian Sound

Hill Kourkoutis is not just a producer and engineer — she’s a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and creative force who has carved out a distinct space in Canada’s music scene. In 2022, she became the first woman to win the JUNO Award for Recording Engineer of the Year — a landmark moment in Canadian music history. Her credits include work with Digging Roots, Amanda Rheaume, July Talk, SATE, and many others, and her sonic signature often elevates voices that are underrepresented or culturally significant.

Kourkoutis has become a symbol of what’s possible when talent meets opportunity, and she actively champions diversity in studios, mentoring young women and non-binary artists interested in audio careers. Her studio, The Lair, has become a nurturing space for creativity, and her presence alone is a powerful statement in an industry where women comprise a tiny fraction of technical roles.

"It’s not just about representation," Kourkoutis has said in past interviews. "It’s about shifting the whole culture of how we create and who we value in the process."

Canada’s Expanding Roster of Women in Audio

The Canadian scene is becoming increasingly rich with talented women behind the console:

Karen Kosowski: Originally from Winnipeg, now based in Nashville, Karen has worked with artists like Mickey Guyton and The Washboard Union. Her production style fuses pop precision with roots grit, and she’s among the few women navigating the country-pop studio world at a high level.
Chloe Watkinson: Known for her powerhouse vocals and nuanced sense of sonic space, Watkinson wears multiple hats as both performer and studio wizard. She’s passionate about building inclusive recording environments and speaks openly about the emotional dynamics of studio collaboration.
Tasha Schumann (aka Tasha the Amazon): JUNO-nominated and fiercely independent, Schumann has made waves as both an artist and a beatmaker. She crafts edgy, genre-defying tracks that challenge hip-hop’s production norms — all from her home studio in Toronto.

These women represent a broader shift in Canadian music: one where the tools of creation are being reclaimed, reinterpreted, and redistributed.

Global Voices Rewiring the Industry

Across the globe, women in sound are gaining ground — and changing the rules as they go.

Sylvia Massy (USA): A pioneer known for her work with Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Johnny Cash, Massy is as much an innovator as she is an icon. Her use of unconventional recording techniques — like running vocals through garden hoses or recording drums in a nuclear cooling tower — has earned her a cult following.
Catherine Marks (UK): An Australian by birth and a mainstay of the British alternative scene, Marks has produced acclaimed albums for Foals, Wolf Alice, and The Big Moon. Her engineering work is layered, atmospheric, and uncompromisingly bold.
Ebonie Smith (USA): A house engineer and producer at Atlantic Records, Smith has worked on projects for Janelle Monáe and The Roots. She also founded Gender Amplified, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating and supporting women in music production.
Maria Elisa Ayerbe (Colombia/USA): A Latin Grammy-nominated engineer, Ayerbe is passionate about bilingual production and Latinx representation in sound engineering. Her Miami-based studio has become a hub for diverse artists seeking quality and cultural fluency.

Still Fighting Static: The Challenges Remain

Despite the talent and trailblazing, barriers persist. Many women still report being mistaken for assistants, overlooked for technical roles, or excluded from key studio sessions. The lack of visible mentors, unconscious bias, and an outdated “boys’ club” mentality continue to shape too many recording environments.

A 2023 study by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that less than 3% of producers on popular tracks were women. The numbers are even more dismal when considering women of colour or non-binary professionals.

Organizations like SoundGirls, Women’s Audio Mission, and Gender Amplified are working hard to change that. They offer mentorships, networking opportunities, and training that not only boost skills but build confidence.

Toward an Equitable Soundscape

The shift is underway, but it’s not yet complete. Listeners, labels, and fellow artists have a role to play — by hiring women in production roles, celebrating their work publicly, and challenging industry gatekeeping.

For every track that moves you, there’s someone behind the scenes who shaped that feeling with expertise, empathy, and precision. Increasingly, those people are women — and they deserve to be heard.

Because when women take control of the mix, the music doesn’t just sound different. It means something different, too.