Spotify announces database of working women in music

Spotify is hoping to give diversity in the music industry a shot in the arm with the EQL Directory. According to the streaming platform's press release, it's a "global database of professionals that seeks to amplify the careers and achievements of women working behind the scenes in music and audio." The Directory was created in conjunction with SoundGirls, a nonprofit aimed at boosting the number of women and gender-nonconforming persons in the music industry.

The EQL Directory builds on SoundGirls's 100-strong log of women in the music industry. Spotify’s Director of Social Impact Kerry Steib says the EQL Directory will make the list of names "more beautiful, more useful, and more visible within the industry.” Individuals are free to submit their names to the EQL Directory, and businesses can use it to search for local talent.

The future of Directory will be shaped by an advisory board that includes TRAKGIRL, Lauren D’Elia, Jin Jin, Kesha Lee, and Ali Tamposi. “We have to continue the work and create more inclusion and diversity in male-dominated spaces," TRAKGIRL said in a statement. "We have a lot of work to do, but this is an awesome start.”