Ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow, the BPI has invited Laura Lewis Paul, Founder of BPI member Saffron Music, to discuss Saffron’s approach to International Women’s Day and the importance of investing in women year-round. 

Driving Industry-Wide Change 

At the start of this year, I was appointed to the BPI’s Equity and Justice Advisory Group (EJAG), following two years of collaboration between Saffron and the BPI. We share a goal of creating industry spaces where people don’t just exist but flourish, and feel a genuine sense of belonging. 

Saffron’s work is driven by a deeply invested team—the most committed colleagues I have ever worked with. To honour their dedication, each year we give every Saffron staff member International Women’s Day off. As International Women’s Day this year falls on a Saturday, the Saffron team will be taking a break on Friday 7 March. For us, this day is not just about celebration but about self-care, deep reflection, and sustainable change. With this, we recognise the need for deep rest to continue our work effectively. 

Why we are logging off for International Women's Day  

This year, Saffron marks a decade of work supporting thousands of women, non-binary, and trans people to enter and thrive within the music industry—specifically in music technology. That’s approximately 3,650 days dedicated to shifting an industry where gender representation remains staggeringly low. 

We want to lay the blueprint for a music industry where underrepresented creatives can thrive, harness technology as a tool for full self-expression, and help lead culture forward. 

Over the years, we have built a beautifully diverse community of audio engineers, producers, and DJs. And our work extends beyond supporting just ‘women’—we are committed to uplifting our trans and non-binary members and ensuring that our celebrations reflect the full spectrum of our community. 

Going Beyond a One-Day Campaign 

Every year, as International Women’s Day (IWD) approaches, our inbox begins to fill with collaboration requests. As well-intentioned as these requests may be, they create a lot of extra work to manage and tend to leave us feeling a bit missed!  

Saffron spends every day working towards gender equity in the music industry. While we’re of course all for celebrating women on March 8th, it’s important that one-off campaigns on the day do not overshadow the diversity of our community and the deeper, sustained work needed to rebalance the industry. 

We encourage organisations to consider long-term commitments. If an organisation genuinely wants to support underrepresented genders in music, why not collaborate with grassroots organisations like ours in meaningful ways that extend beyond IWD? 

Meaningful Ways to Support Underrepresented Genders  

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day 2025, we encourage businesses and industry leaders to take the following actions: 

  • Invest in and promote organisations already doing the work year-round, not just on IWD. 
  • Offer training and development opportunities to women and underrepresented genders within your organisation.  
  • Compensate fairly. If you invite women, trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming people to participate in your IWD campaign, ensure they are paid for their time, expertise, and contributions. 
  • Use IWD as a checkpoint to assess your progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rather than a one-off celebration. 

As we move forward, we encourage the industry to reimagine its approach to International Women’s Day. Let’s build a landscape where equity isn’t just an annual talking point but a sustained, collective effort. 

Click here to find out more about Saffron Music, which offers corporate membership packages to help marginalised employees access fellowship and support.