Women Dominated the Biggest Night of British Music

The public was composed of 2,500 front-line workers, as a thank you for their work during the pandemic.

In last year’s ceremony, the Brits were criticized for their failure in including women in their mixed-gender categories. In the 25 slots for nomination there was only one woman, showing an important bias towards men artists. More than ever, the words of Dua Lipa in her 2018 Brits’ speech were important: “Here is to more women on the stages, more women winning awards, and more women taking over the world.”

Now in 2021, three years later, she recognized that her hopes were finally becoming a reality and how happy she is to be part of the wave of more women in music. Because in the lapse of one year, it went from only one nomination for a woman to them winning seven mixed-gender awards, with Dua Lipa dominating with the most wins of the night.

In one of the most special parts of the show, Little Mix became the first girl band in the history of the Brits to win Best British Group. In their speech, they emphasized the difficulties of being a woman in the UK pop industry, because of the sexism, misogyny, and lack of diversity they have seen. But even so, they stood together and have used their voices to talk about these matters. For example, in their empowering songs "Not A Pop Song," "Woman Like Me," "Strip," and more. They also acknowledged other famous girl groups in UK history that never won the award, even with the impact they had in pop culture, like the Spice Girls.

Also read: WOMEN WHO HAVE MARKED MILESTONES IN URBAN MUSIC

In another breakthrough moment, Taylor Swift became the first woman in history to win the Global Icon Award. She joined Elton John, David Bowie, and Robbie Williams, the only receivers of this recognition. With 14 million albums sold, 78 billion streams, and seven #1 albums in the UK, she was called the songwriter of a generation. In her speech, she inspired women talking about how if you are met with resistance, negativism, and skepticism, it is because you are doing something new, you are rising, and you cannot let it crush your dreams because you have the right to prove them wrong.

In addition to the inspiring wins of women, the Brits also acknowledged other causes during their show. For example, Dua Lipa used her speech to ask the government to raise the salary of front-line workers, who were the public present in the Brits, because clapping for them is not enough. Furthermore, Olly Alexander and Elton John performed a version of “It’s a Sin” to help the reduction of stigma around VIH-AIDS, a close cause to both. It was a night of activism and wish for change.