In this episode we chat with two singer-song-writers, Keppie Coutts and Ben Romalis, about gender issues within the music industry, and the impact the music industry has on gender perspectives. 

We share insights into some of the everyday microaggressions, and the gendered, racial and age-related obstacles encountered by artists. 

We discuss how ‘networks’, and the lack of representation particularly in positions of power and influence in the industry work to exclude anybody who isn’t a white man. 

We discuss gendered stigmas attached to instruments and different genres, before finally taking a deeper look at song lyrics - from Blurred Lines, to grapevines, and the zig a zig ahs.

GUESTS
Keppie Coutts:
Keppie Coutts is a Sydney-based singer-songwriter, who also teaches contemporary songwriting in universities - currently for the Berklee College of Music Online, The Australian College of the Arts, and the Sydney Conservatorium's Open Academy, as well as being the co-founder of the YouTube channel, How To Write Songs.

Her most recent release was an album of songs premiered inside an audiobook published by Penguin Random House, called MOTHERTONGUES - and is one of the first audiobooks in the world to contain a full album of original songs.

Keppie received her formal training as a musician at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where, in 2005, she was one of 4 females in a guitar department of almost 1000 students. Keppie also worked for several years as the Program Coordinator in the Office for Cultural Diversity at the Berklee College of Music after she graduated, where she was involved in conversations daily about race, gender, age, ability and other aspects of diversity that impacted inclusion, representation, and power inside the college, and the music industry at large. 

Ben Romalis:
Ben is currently a lecturer at JMC Academy, where he lectures in song writing and composition for screen and music production. He's a content creator and has released two full length independent albums under his own name. 

He founded Silamor Studios in 2014, which is a boutique studio specialising in composition, audio recording, and video production, and he continues to write and release music under the pseudonym of Silamor. 

Ben is a founding member of the alternative folk outfit Green Mohair Suits, who have four albums, and toured extensively throughout Australia and the United States.

In addition to holding a Bachelor of Contemporary Music from Southern Cross University and a postgraduate diploma in Composition for Film and Television, he has toured with the Australian cricket team as chief performance analyst and he's recently moved into freelance business coaching and works closely with the organisation HUB - Humans United by Business. 

Thanks for joining us on this journey. Be sure to subscribe in your podcast app so that you can catch all the episodes, and share this podcast with your colleagues, your friends and in particular the men in your life so that we can get more men in the driver's seat for gender equality.

To find out more about the bloke coaching program and how we could work with your organisation head to our website at www.blokecoaching.com

In this episode, we chat with Dominque Powrie, Managing Director of DDI, about gender equality and leadership.

We chat about what makes for great leaders, and how we should be identifying talent, whilst exploring why the best leaders may not necessarily be the ones who end up in leadership roles.

We discuss why we still have a way to go to ensure equality in representation of all genders at senior leadership, and how the inherent biases still permeate our processes.

Finally, we share practical ways that executives can be allies, mentors, and sponsors, and the significant impact that we can all have to ensure fairer outcomes.

GUEST
Dominique Powrie, Managing Director of Development Dimensions International (DDI).

She started her career at DDI as a leadership development consultant, working as an executive coach as well as a facilitator before moving into business development where she managed key client accounts which included top 100 ASX listed companies.

Dominique is passionate about empowering leaders in the face of complexity they experience every day and she also heads up the women in leadership practice at DDI Australia, where she collaborates with organisations and industry associations to design and deliver keynote speeches, conference presentations and workshops, with the aim of uplifting and supporting the success of female leaders and their sponsors.

You can connect with Dominique via LinkedIn

Thanks for joining us on this journey. Be sure to subscribe in your podcast app so that you can catch all the episodes, and share this podcast with your colleagues, your friends and in particular the men in your life so that we can get more men in the driver's seat for gender equality.

To find out more about the bloke coaching program and how we could work with your organisation head to our website at www.blokecoaching.com

In this episode we chat with Dr Stephen Weller, Chief Operating Officer at Australian Catholic University, to discuss gender inequality within the tertiary education sector.

We explore the importance of diverse representation in decision making, governance and policy making, and how change is taking longer than it should be.

We examine some of the underlying issues associated with casualisation, flexibility and academic promotions, and how these are providing significant barriers to achieving gender equality.

Guest
Dr Stephen Weller, Chief Operating Officer at Australian Catholic University.

Dr Weller comes with quite extensive experience across tertiary education management, having worked for UWS, UTS, UQ, Victoria University, and James Cook University.

Doctor Stephen Weller, also holds a PhD in organisational justice from Victoria University. 

In addition to that, he's got a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Master of Commerce in employment relations, and a Bachelor of Arts, Government, and Public Administration. 

He's also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Chair of the Board of Higher Education Services.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. Be sure to subscribe in your podcast app so that you can catch all the episodes, and share this podcast with your colleagues, your friends and in particular the men in your life so that we can get more men in the driver's seat for gender equality.

To find out more about the bloke coaching program and how we could work with your organisation head to our website at www.blokecoaching.com