Mid-Riff This Week:
NAMM, Plus Improve Your Hiring!
Check out Episode 003 of Mid-Riff where interviewed 30 new best friends at NAMM in Anaheim, CA! What's NAMM? Glad you asked! It's the National Association of Music Merchants. So basically it's the country's biggest music gear trade show with about 200,000 attendees and it's full to the brim with new music gear. I asked both companies and attendees some combination of the following questions:
What's your favorite new gear at NAMM?
If you could have any cis woman, trans, or non-binary person playing your gear who currently doesn't, who would it be?
Who, other than your company, is doing a good job around gender and diversity in the music gear industry?
If a music gear company CEO or retailer asked you for tips on improving gender and diversity in the industry, what would you say?
I share their responses and provide my observations of the event as well! The issues the music gear industry is dealing are in some ways unique, but in some ways, very similar, to those across industries, so even if you've never touched a guitar, the findings will be relevant to you (and if you want, you can skip the tech talk because I provided timestamps in the show notes!).
Wondering who was interviewed? Here you go!
COMPANY INTERVIEWS
Mitch— Empress / Ryan— Fuzzrocious / Mike, Zack, Joel— Chase Bliss / Silvie, Randy, Andy— Red Panda / Lynsey and Ted— Surfy Industries / Mallory— Reverb / Zach— SJC Drums / Emily— Outlaw Drums artist rep / Cort— Walrus Audio / Corey— Earthquaker Devices / Mike— Alexander Pedals / Heather— Death By Audio / Dwayne and Kendra— Revelation Cables / Audrey— Ernie Ball Stingray / Penny— Reverend / Liz— D’Addario / Patrick Hunter-- Bass Demoer
ATTENDEE INTERVIEWS
Alexa and Jayda / Erika / Sunshine and Nirvana / Yohanna / Dena / Sara, John, Raj, and Shilpa
Listen or subscribe on my website or via your favorite podcast app!
Follow along on Facebook or Instagram!
Stay tuned for upcoming interviews with: Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females), Alice Bag (the Bags), Reba Mitchell (House Red, Whore Paint, etc.), Audrey Zee Whitesides (Speedy Ortiz, Worriers), Emily Harris (Get Offset podcast), Julie Robbins (Earthquaker Devices), plus more!
WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING? (updates!)
How many taxidermied animals did you play under last week? We (Alpha Error) played under MANY. SO MANY. Our next show is in Boston on April 11th at the Greek American Construction Club with Rong, Stuck, USA Nails, and Freaking.
I'll be speaking at the next Women in Leadership Nexus event, May 1st, called "How to Change the Leadership Game". The title of my talk is "A Workplace of One's Own: Flipping the Script on the Traditional Workplace". If you are interested in that jazz, you can learn more here!
Rad Tips / Rad Research Corner
RAD TIPS!
We're hiring at my job! How do I help encourage cis women, trans folks, folks of color to apply?
Ahhhh, it's a question as old as time! Here are a few things to consider:
1) Do you traditionally list your salary in job postings? If not-- DO IT! Not everyone has been taught the skills to negotiate their salary and you not listing it does not make that easier.
2) Where do you post your jobs? Can you move beyond Indeed and Glassdoor and those traditional sites? Sometimes some specific outreach to the communities you want to hire can do a lot.
3) Are you hiring for skills or for potential? Research shows that men are hired for potential and women are hired based on their performance or skills they already have. The lived experience of someone whose background and perspective is different from the rest of the group can be CRUCIAL. But it can't be taught. You know what can be taught? Pretty much everything else on your job listing.
4) Include language about ways that you create a positive work environment: flex-time, benefits, family leave, professional development, etc. (you do provide those things, right?).
5) Have supports in place when they are hired. If you want your new hire to stay, you need to be thoughtful about how to make that happen and what supports and the environment you can provide. Otherwise they will quit and all is for naught. Sad face.
This is a just a quick start, but hopefully something to chew on if you are in the hiring process!
Do you have questions around hiring? What other ideas or questions are coming up for you right now? Send me an email-- I'd love to hear from you!
RAD RESEARCH and READING!
Sexist Ideologies May Help Cultivate The “Dark Triad” Of Personality Traits
The way you define racism may stop you from seeing it – so what definition do you hold?
A Note From Your Colleagues With Hearing Loss: Just Use a Microphone Already
Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? And what can we do about it?
Transgress Fest Is the Only US Festival of Its Kind to Celebrate Trans Punk Artists
100 Historic Black Women Guitarists and Bassists You Need To Know
Women Helping Women Isn’t Just A Rallying Cry. It’s Good Business
Stop Asking People Of Color To Explain Racism–Pick Up One Of These Books Instead
What are you up to right now? Have questions? Ideas? Send me an email and I'd love to hear about them!
Thanks for reading!
Hilary B. Jones
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