In June 2020, I hosted a breakout session/presentation on barriers to leadership as a person of colour in electronic music for the Electronic Music Wellness Summit.

I covered the 5 things that I considered when operating within electronic music in a leadership position as a Black woman:

• If you’re operating in a space that you have no social currency in, it is your duty to simply listen and observe.
  • Communicating with people whose experience and understanding is greater than yours will be key to learning and giving context to your position and how to best serve people.
• You can respect it without becoming it.
  • Your personal conviction shouldn’t be challenged in order to do your job.
• The many faces of electronic music.
  • Understand the part your team (or those around you) play in how you contextualise your experience and your relationship to the work you’re doing.
  • Proactively seek the different representations in electronic music.
• Don’t let ’em get comfortable!
  • There are many instances of people subjecting the people their inappropriate behaviours or comments are aimed at to levels of humiliation to test just how far they can go before it becomes uncomfortable.
  • It’s not your responsibility to make people feel comfortable at your own expense.
  • While you train your voice box, know that your non-verbal cues are just as important.
• Hey imposter syndrome!? You’re not welcome around here!
  • Remember you deserve to be here.
  • Your visibility is everything.