A UK parliamentary report has advisable for NDAs to be banned within the music trade to deal with its “tradition of misogyny”.
Earlier this month, the Ladies and Equalities Committee (WEC) revealed ‘Misogyny In Music: On Repeat’, a report that claims that non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements are a “main concern” within the trade as they’re getting used to silence victims of harassment and abuse.
A authorities spokesperson advised The Guardian: “The music trade should be freed from misogyny and discrimination and NDAs shouldn’t be misused to silence victims. We’re actively taking a look at all choices for additional reform of NDAs.”
A report from the WEC final yr warned that girls within the music trade face “endemic” misogyny and discrimination and mentioned “pressing motion” was required to deal with the difficulty. It described the trade as a “boys’ membership” the place sexual harassment and abuse are widespread and the non-reporting of such incidents is excessive.
We’ve got revealed a report, Misogyny in music: on repeat.
We discovered that banning non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) is key to tackling a ‘tradition of misogyny’.
Learn the complete checklist of suggestions:https://t.co/TSLbpRxHqd pic.twitter.com/h97YTHypru
— Ladies & Equalities Committee (@CommonsWEC) June 4, 2025
The Conservative authorities on the time rejected the proposed suggestions of that report, regardless of saying “everybody ought to be capable of work within the music trade with out being topic to misogyny and discrimination”. The Labour get together, alternatively, handed a movement at its annual convention final September that the present authorities would implement the committee’s report.
Final yr’s WEC report acknowledged that girls in music nonetheless encounter limitations in alternative, a scarcity of assist and chronic unequal pay – with these mentioned to be intensified for these dealing with intersectional boundaries, notably racial discrimination.
It mentioned that feminine artists are “routinely undervalued and undermined, endure a give attention to their bodily look in a manner that males should not subjected to, and should work far tougher to get the popularity their potential deserves”.
The report highlighted the usage of NDAs that left victims of sexual harassment and abuse “threatened into silence”, with WEC recommending that they’re prohibited in instances involving sexual abuse, sexual harassment or sexual misconduct, bullying or harassment, and discrimination referring to a protected attribute. It was additionally advisable that the federal government ought to contemplate a retrospective moratorium on NDAs for individuals who have signed them referring to the problems outlined.