Not too long ago I was someone completely unaware of the Hi-Fi term and industry. Music has been a main important thing in my life but my knowledge only consisted on putting on my earphones and playing my favorite music on my iPhone or computer, which sounded relatively good for me.
Yet, I didn’t know that there could be something more, something that will improve my experience of listening to my favorite music in the best quality possible.
I met Michelangelo a few months ago and right away he talked to me about Volumio. I would be lying if I said I understood about Hi-Fi and Volumio after the first conversation with Michelangelo. Oh no… it was a new world for me and took some time to understand what this audiophile world was about.
Before I go deeper into this matter, let me introduce myself. My name is Monica, I am currently part of the Volumio team and I am a woman.
When I joined Volumio, a whole new experience began. I was very intrigued so I’ve learned about the Hi-Fi industry, who is an audiophile and what an audiophile seeks. The importance of high-quality sound reproduction and how this enhances somebody’s daily life.
But… how have I never found out about this before? If music is something I am passionate about and I listen to it everyday, why shouldn’t I enjoy it to the maximum as well?
Are we getting enough room in the hi-fi community?
After doing some research while working in Volumio, I noticed something peculiar: only 10% of Volumio’s users are women. Even when I go online and search something related to the hi-fi industry, I see that mostly men are the ones part of this community. The million dollar question is: Why?
Today, we can say there are many fields, such as audio and technology, that are elements and needs for both male and female, and whatever comprises this field it should be targeted to all of us. Also, being fair enough, women of all ages have better hearing frequencies than men, isn’t that say something?
Women enjoy to listen to music as much as any men. And as a woman, being part of this community but also working in it, made me wonder what we should do about it. I’m glad I decided to join Volumio because it showed me a bunch of interesting and powerful ideas in this industry that keeps growing. Also it demonstrated how I can enjoy what I like to do the most in an advantageously way, and what better time to share it now and encourage more women to join the community and let the women already interested in it, to be part of it.
We must expand the hi-fi image and communication
I know out there we will find many women interested as soon as they learn about the Hi-Fi community. Believe me, the past 10 years I studied and worked in the fashion industry and now, this new world opened to me with so many new experiences that fortunately keep my enthusiasm high everyday. We are just missing a little communication pointed towards the female audience, to bring out the curiosity and the chance to explore the countless attributes that the audio industry can offer.
Today, I can see most of the communication goes towards the middle-aged men who has the most expensive hi-fi, resulting of an useless stereotyping that does not help the community grow. Should we start changing the face of Hi-Fi?
Based on my personal experience, if it wasn’t for Michelangelo I would probably still be unfamiliar about Hi-Fi and everything that consists of. Therefore, my goal is for you and I to invite and encourage the women in our lives to experiment the feeling of listening to any audio in a bit-perfect quality.
At the end of the day we all love music, and we all deserve to enjoy it to the max.
So, what do you think we can do to change the image of the Hi-Fi industry and give more room to women? Write me in the comments, I would love to hear your opinion!
Let’s make this community more diverse! 🙂