Gender distribution of popular songs in the U.S. 2012-2022, by genre

According to a study on representation and equality in the music industry, female artists were most prevalent in the pop genre between 2012 and 2022. While female artists released roughly 33 percent of the highest-charting pop songs during that period, they only accounted for 13.4 percent of top songs in the hip-hop/rap genre.

Women in the music industry

Gender inequality remains an ongoing issue across all areas of the music industry. According to the findings of a recent report, the share of female songwriters on the Billboard Top 100 charts has stood below 13 percent for nearly a decade now, highlighting how little progress has been made in terms of equal representation in music over the years. Meanwhile, an even bigger representation gap can be observed when looking at the share of female producers in the United States. Women working as producers remain a rare sight, and between 2012 and 2020, only two to five percent of producers of the top-charting songs were female.

Who are the top female solo artists?

As of 2020, Nicki Minaj (Onika Maraj) and Rihanna (Robyn Fenty) were the two top-performing female solo artists in the United States, with 21 songs that placed on the Billboard Top 100 charts each. Six out of the top 13 performers in this ranking were women, and while four of them fall under the pop category, two female artists (Nicki Minaj and Cardi B) release hip-hop/rap music. Considering that the latter genre is particularly hard to break into for women, the recent wave of successful female rappers (spearheaded by Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat, to name a few) might indicate the beginning of a new musical era.