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Job of the month #25: Majeur·e·s Coordinator

by IDOL

New episode of our Job of the Month series to discover the many facets of the music industry. This month, Solange Maribe talks about her involvement with the feminist organization shesaid.so France.

Each month, IDOL presents a job in the music industry. Or more than a job, a person! Because behind the same job title, there are significant differences from one structure to another. Each person can define the scope of his or her job according to his or her career path, qualities and skills! Meet Solange Maribe, Coordinator of the Majeur·e·s directory for the feminist association shesaid.so France.

First and foremost, can you introduce shesaid.so?

shesaid.so France is the French branch of the international shesaid.so network, present in 18 countries. We are a feminist support network that brings together all music professions – from recorded to live, including teaching and training – and all musical aesthetics.

We have a national presence, with 11 local branches (in Paris, but also Strasbourg, Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes, Vannes, Rennes, Lille and Reunion Island). The idea is to show that the music industry is not limited to the capital and to promote professionals throughout the country.

Our main mission is to fight against gender discrimination and promote professional equality in music. We do this by highlighting profiles via the tool we have developed, the Majeur·e·s directory, organizing networking events, whether online or in-person, and by working on skill development.

shesaid.so France is an intentionally inclusive network, open to cis women, trans and non-binary people, while also carrying out awareness-raising actions for the entire sector. We support, empower, and create connections between all these people to move forward towards greater equality.

What does a Majeur·e·s Coordinator do?

As a coordinator, I supervise the development of the Majeur·e·s website with our web agency. My role is to identify needs, gather user feedback, and support the tool’s evolution. I also animate the community through educational content and personalized support to help everyone better showcase their profile.

Concretely, the directory allows searching for profiles by skills, professions, or location. This gives visibility to talent that would otherwise remain in the shadows. My role is also to encourage registrations, because the more complete the directory, the more useful and effective it will be.

I also represent Majeur·e·s at professional events, reminding people that it is not just a directory but a networking tool and a way to combat the strong “old boys’ club” mentality that still exists in the music industry. The goal is to give more visibility to talent based on their skills, and not just thanks to their connections.

Finally, I coordinate other shesaid.so France projects, such as awareness workshops and online masterclasses for our members.

What qualities are required for your position?

As the position didn’t exist before, I had to invent it as I went along, learning on the job and adapting my methods. But I would say that pedagogy is paramount: you have to know how to explain how the tool works, but also, sometimes, go back to basics and remind people why it exists. This requires patience and active listening, because some people believe that things were already working well without this type of corrective tool, probably out of fear of change. So, you have to understand their hesitations and find the right arguments to address them.

You also have to be versatile: we interact with a web development agency as well as with partners, artists, or professionals in the industry (communication managers, marketing project managers, etc.). A good knowledge of the professions and challenges of the sector is therefore a real asset to understand needs and value everyone’s skills.

Why did you choose to work for shesaid.so? Where does this motivation to defend gender-minority professionals come from?

I joined shesaid.so France a little over 3 years ago. I joined the project midway through, just before the launch of the directory in May 2022. Basically, I come more from local media and live entertainment, with a lot of experience in community radio. This job is truly my first step into the music industry.

At the time, I was coming out of a difficult period, including burnout, and I was looking for a meaningful project. I saw the offer thanks to my network, specifically Marine De Bruyn, one of the co-founders of shesaid.so France. It’s no coincidence, and this connection perfectly illustrates our point: without the right connection, I would surely have missed this position. The project appealed to me all the more because I define myself as a feminist with an intersectional approach, and I wanted to put my convictions and personal experience at the service of a committed organization.

What attracted me was both the idea of the directory, simple but powerful, and the human dimension: connecting people who would never have met, seeing collaborations emerge, and breaking out of the “old boys’ club.” After working extensively at the local level, joining shesaid.so allowed me to move to a national scale, to promote initiatives across France, and to actively contribute to making a difference.

What is a typical day like for you?

I don’t really have a typical day. Since I work remotely and I’m the only employee on the team, my days often start in front of the computer, dealing with my emails and organizing my priorities. The advantage is that I can make progress without too many interruptions, but the disadvantage is the lack of daily interactions: exchanging with colleagues also fuels the work and allows for sharing ideas. I have three freelance colleagues, but they intervene occasionally, so our exchange times are quite limited.

In parallel, there’s a travel component, which represents about 10% of my time, to participate in festivals, conferences, or workshops. This is an aspect I really like because it allows me to meet people on the ground, in different cities and regions, and better understand their realities and challenges. It’s always very enriching, and it’s good to see “real people”!

What do you like about your job?

What I particularly appreciate is meeting new people and constantly learning: about regions, the industry, professions, and the major challenges facing our sector. They are sometimes complex, sometimes a real puzzle, but that’s precisely what makes this job stimulating.

It is also enriching to see that, despite an environment marked by a very capitalist logic that complicates the working conditions of artists and professionals, there are still committed people who hold strong values and defend another vision of the collective, of work, and of “living together.”

I also like the versatility of my position: being involved in human support, networking, but also in more technical aspects like the website or content production. What I find essential is to facilitate the sharing of experiences and resources among members. Even if others are already doing this work, I believe that the more tools and knowledge we share, the better we will be able to improve everyone’s conditions and career paths.

What's the strangest task you've ever done in your career?

The most improbable experience of my career was during an audiovisual production internship. I was supposed to work in editorial, but one day, I was asked to dress up as a chicken and jump rope for a segment of the TV show Les Maternelles, then hosted by Daphné Bürki. At the time, I really wondered what I was doing there! But, well, when you’re an intern, you don’t always have a choice…

Solange's playlist

“I’ve included artists I truly love AND who perform incredible live shows, talents from my region (Pays de la Loire) and beyond.”

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