Spice Girl Mel B reveals the music industry's sexism in the 1990s through slammed doors.

During the 1990s, the Spice Girls, led by Melanie Brown (Mel B or Scary Spice), experienced sexism in the male-dominated music industry.

In an interview with Tania Bryer of CNBC, Brown, who joined the renowned British pop group in 1994, discussed the challenge of being taken seriously.

"In an episode of "The CNBC Conversation," Brown stated that when we entered the industry, it was dominated by boy bands and many people dismissed the idea of girl bands being successful, saying "girl bands are not going to work." However, we remained confident and believed that they would eventually become rich and famous."

"We accomplished our mission despite being on it only for a short time."

The formation of the iconic band was initiated by Heart Management, who conducted auditions for a girl group to rival popular British boy bands during that era. The group comprises five members, namely Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell-Horner, and Victoria Beckham.

The "girl power" mantra of the group drew a young, predominantly female fanbase, propelling them to the top of the charts.

In 1996, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls became a number one hit in approximately 30 countries, and their debut album "Spice" was the best-selling album globally in 1997. Since then, the group has sold over 85 million records worldwide.

Brown told CNBC that they wrote all of their own songs to ensure everyone was involved in the writing process, including the lyrics, which focused on empowering women and challenging societal norms that make girls feel like they have to conform.

In the early 90s, when we emerged, the industry was still predominantly male-dominated. Every interview and board meeting we attended was exclusively male. However, there has been progress, and now women are beginning to hold positions of power, although not enough and not clearly enough. The situation is changing.

For the first time in its 50-year history, the 2024 Glastonbury Festival featured two female headlining acts, marking incremental improvements in gender diversity in the music industry scene in the U.K.

The percentage of women in senior positions in the music industry has increased from 40.4% in 2020 to 48.3% in 2024, according to the U.K. Music Diversity Report 2024, which surveyed 2,874 people working behind the scenes.

Despite progress in gender equity in the music industry, women are still more likely to be paid less than men. In fact, 55% of unpaid respondents were women, while only 30% of male respondents reported being unpaid.

While 53.2% of men were earning more than £100,000, only 43.4% of women were also earning as much or more.

In the U.K. music industry, 51% of women have experienced discrimination as musicians, compared to 6% of men, according to the 2024 Women Musicians Insight Report.

According to the Musician's Census, 5% of male respondents reported being sexually harassed while working as a musician, compared to almost a third of female respondents.

In a 2018 interview with Female First, Chisholm stated that the group's "girl power" slogan was motivated by their experiences with gender discrimination in the industry.

As we began as a pop group, our main goal was to sing, gain fame, and travel the world. We didn't consider the industry's sexism until we were on the brink of entering the music industry. Chisholm stated, "We were told girls don't sell."

"Realizing early on that we were doing it not just for ourselves and each other, but for girls, gave us even more determination to succeed. Hearing that we couldn't do something only made us more determined, like a red rag to a bull for the Spice Girls," she said.