Dua Lipa says women in the music industry have to work harder to be taken seriously

Mark Metcalfe/Getty ImagesDespite earning two Grammy Awards and her song “Don’t Start Now” spending all of 2020 on the Billboard charts, Dua Lipa says she still has to fight to be taken seriously in the music industry.

In a candid discussion with Attitude magazine, the 25-year-old singer detailed why it still feels like a battle to be heard and treated equally among her peers.

“That’s just being a woman in the industry,” Lipa pointed out. “A lot of people see it, particularly in pop music, that you’re manufactured or whatever, so you have this underlying pressure or anxiety to constantly prove [yourself] to people, especially when you write your own lyrics.”

The “New Rules” artist reflected on her past experiences when recording her eponymous debut album, explaining, “When I would go into the studio sessions, I felt like I needed to prove to the people I was going in the room with that I could write and that I do this myself and that I am an artist.”

“I’m not just going to sit there in the room and wait for somebody to write a song for me,” she defiantly continued. “You have to work a little bit harder to be taken seriously.”

Lipa says the sexism goes beyond the recording studio, too.

“You’re on a music video and the director goes, ‘I definitely think you need to wear a skirt’ because someone wants to see, you know, ‘UK’s pop star in a cute outfit.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I’m going to wear trousers because it’s f***ing freezing,'” she shrugged. “I know how to stand my ground and hold it down.”

Lipa stressed that female artists have to advocate for themselves, adding, “It creates maybe a weird energy, but it’s something that has to be said and addressed.”