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According to a study on representation and equality in the music industry, female artists were most prevalent in the pop genre between 2012 and 2023. While female artists released roughly **** percent of the highest-charting pop songs during that period, they only accounted for **** 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 ** 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 * to * 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 ** songs that placed on the Billboard Top 100 charts each. *** out of the top 13 performers in this ranking were women, and while **** 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.