International Women’s Day 2024: Celebrating the women who make sound

Happy International Women’s day! For starters, a few personal highlights from me: As regular visitors to A Sound Effect will know, two absolutely essential talents here on the team are Jennifer Walden and Adriane Kuzminski: I’ve worked with them for many years, and their insights, creativity, dedication and exceptional writing are an ongoing inspiration – it’s a privilege to work with them.

I also want to thank Christa Giammattei for letting us sponsor her brilliant AUDIO INDUSTRY NEWS Instagram series, where she provides weekly recaps of what’s happening in the world of sound.

And a big thanks to all the creatives, organizers, contributors and advocates for sharing their stories and ensuring their audio communities are welcoming and supportive. One person I’d like to highlight in particular is freelance dubbing mixer & sound effects editor Emma Butt for her relentless, ongoing fight for diversity and inclusivity in the audio community. It’s sadly a battle that needs to be fought as there are still frustratingly few women and other minorities in sound.

But they are out there, and below you’ll find a number of sound stories featuring inspiring women, podcasts, community groups and resources – and if we’ve missed any, please leave a comment below so we can get it on the list!

Stories from A Sound Effect:

• Making ‘A Murder at the End of the World’s Sound – with Gwen Yates Whittle
• Sundance 2024: Behind the Edgy Sound of ‘Kneecap’ – with Louise Burton
• Establishing the ’80s Era for ‘AIR’ – with Sound Supervisors Ai-Ling Lee and Susan Dawes
• Crafting the Tense and Terrifying Sound of ‘Talk to Me’ – with Sound Supervisor Emma Bortignon
• How Elemental’s Extraordinary Foley was Created – with Shelley Roden
• Building the Fantastic-Plastic Sound of ‘Barbie’ – with Ai-Ling Lee
• Stay updated on the latest in sound with AUDIO INDUSTRY NEWS – hosted by Christa Giammattei
• The Adventurous Sound of ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ – with Kyrsten Mate
• Sounds of Horror & Emotional States – with Oscar winning sound supervisor/designer Karen Baker Landers
• Shaping the Sound of Star Wars – with Emmy, MPSE, & CAS award-winning Sound Supervisor Bonnie Wild
• Dialogue Editing and Sound Design – with supervising sound editor/sound designer Becky Sullivan
• Making ‘Hello Tomorrow!’s Remarkable Retro-Futuristic Sound – with Mary Ellen Porto
• What It Takes To Get Started And Succeed As A Game Composer – with Winifred Phillips
• Guide to Getting into Game Audio – by Megan Frazier
• The Composer Success Series: Composing For Theatre – with Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson
• Behind the Fun, Futuristic-retro Sound of ‘Loki’ on Disney+ – with Bonnie Wild
• Behind the Harrowing Sound of ‘The Underground Railroad’ – with Onnalee Blank
• Handling the Sound of The Handmaid’s Tale – with Jane Tattersall
• Co-Oping on the Game Sound and Score for ‘It Takes Two’ – with Anne-Sophie Mongeau
• The Composer Success Series: Composing for film – with Pinar Toprak & Nainita Desai
• The Composer Success Series: Composing for Television – with Sherri Chung & Cindy O’Connor
• How Raya and the Last Dragon’s superb sound was made – with Nia Hansen
• Finding the Sound of Soul – with Coya Elliott
• Creating the exciting sound design for the ‘Pirates in Batavia’ amusement park ride – with Ana Monte
• The Mission of ‘Women Who Are Sound’ – with Anna Bertmark and Anna Sulley
• Telling ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ Through Sound – with Renee Tondelli
• How To Actually Live as an Audio Freelancer – by Melissa Pons
• The Psychology of Sound Design – with Ai-Ling Lee
• How to succeed in UI/UX Sound Design, ADR Recording, & Audio Programming – with Emma Butt
• How to succeed in Sound Editing, Sound for Advertising, and Production Sound – with Lucy J Mitchell
• How to succeed in sound design for Film, Documentaries, and Trailers – with Nia Hansen
• Experienced Foley Artist Alyson Dee Moore talks to George Haddad about a life in Foley
• Video: Foley Artist Tara Blume recreates the iconic sounds of ‘Evil Dead II’ from home
• What it takes to do sound at NASA – with Alexandria Perryman, NASA Audio Engineer
• Designing the Futuristic Sound and Music of Westworld Season 3 – with Susan Cahill
• Behind the great sound of The Mandalorian – with Bonnie Wild
• Creating the sound for Velvet Buzzsaw’s mix of horror, humor, and high art – with Margit Pfeiffer
• How ‘First Man’ takes your ears on a supersonic adventure – with Ai-Ling Lee and Milly Iatrou
• Indie Audio Adventures: Telling BestLuck’s beautiful story through sound – with Gina Zdanowicz
• Ant-Man and the Wasp – Creating Big Sound for Tiny Superheroes – with Katy Wood
• Ototoxicity: Is your medication damaging your hearing? – with Karen Collins

Podcasts:

• The Soundgirls Podcast
• Level with Emily Reese – an excellent audio podcast hosted by, of course, Emily Reese
• Soundtracking – a brilliant film sound podcast hosted by Edith Bowman

Groups & resources:

• Soundgirls – SoundGirls supports women working in professional audio and music production by highlighting their success and providing a place for them to connect, network, and share advice and experiences.
• The EQL Directory – A Database for Women and Gender Non-Conforming Audio Professionals
• A Composer’s Guide to Game Music – a book by Winifred Phillips
• Women in Audio – a book by Leslie Gaston-Bird
• We Make Noise – Advancing global gender equity through the power of music and technology
• Audio Treehouse Community Slack – The Audio Treehouse provides a safe space for aspiring and current audio professionals of all underrepresented genders/sexes in the industry.
• Black Girls Code – A non-profit organization that introduces programming and technology to a new generation of coders, coders who will become builders of technological innovation and of their own futures.
• IGDA Women in Games SIG – The IGDA Women in Games (WIG) Special Interest Group (SIG) was formed to create a positive impact on the game industry with respect to gender balance in the workplace and the marketplace.
• Sound Women Network – This Facebook group is for all women who work in audio (radio, podcasting, music, streaming, management, engineering and beyond).
• Women in Film & Television UK – Women in Film & TV (UK) is the leading membership organisation for women working in creative media in the UK and part of an international network of over 13,000 women.
• Women in Audio – a book by Leslie Gaston-Bird
• Women in Games Boston – Women in Games Boston is a networking event for women who make games and their allies.
• Women in Games International – Women in Games International (WIGI), made up of both female and male professionals, works to promote the inclusion and advancement of women in the global games industry.
• Women in Games – Women in Games (WIGJ) is a not for profit organisation that works to recruit more women into the games industry and to support those already in the industry.
• Women’s Audio Mission – Women’s Audio Mission is a San Francisco/Oakland-based nonprofit organization, and the only professional recording studio in the world built and run by women, which attracts over 2,000 underserved women and girls every year to STEM and creative technology studies that inspire them to amplify their voices and become the innovators of tomorrow.
• Wonder Women Tech – Wonder Women Tech (WWT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and ecosystem that produces year-round programming and national and international conferences that highlight, educate, and celebrate women and the underrepresented in STEAM industries (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math), innovation and entrepreneurialism.
• Yorkshire Sound Women – Collaboration, skill shares and mentoring for women interested in and working with music and sound technology