"Right now, something in this industry song feels very off," stated Emily Lazar, as she stood onstage at one of this week's biggest Grammy-leadup events, the second annual Resonator Awards. "The data doesn't lie: This year in the [Grammys Awards'] Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Category, there are no women nominated. Zero. In fact, across the entire history of the Grammy Awards, only nine women have ever been nominated in that category. That's not a coincidence. It's a pattern."

Five years ago, Lazar - the first female mastering engineer to win the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical - founded We Are Moving the Needle, a nonprofit focused on advancing gender equity in the audio industry. And on Tuesday, at Hollywood's Chaplin (formerly A&M) Studios, her organization's Resonator Awards celebrated the female, non-binary, and trans music-makers and change-makers who are slowly but surely leveling the industry's playing field.

"It's not about lack of talent, because talent is everywhere. Look at this room - it's everywhere!" said Lazar, addressing a star-studded audience that included honorees Chaka Khan and Chappell Roan, surprise presenter Joni Mitchell, and attendees like the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel, Paula Abdul, Devo's Mark Motherbaugh, Jason Isbell, Beck, Linda Perry, Joe Sumner, Niecy Nash, Arooj Aftab, and Inara George.

"But there's hope, because when people hear these numbers, when they truly understand how real that imbalance is, they're stunned," Lazar continued. "And they want to change it. And that's where nights like this come in, because music is made by people in rooms like this - listening closely, collaborating, being vulnerable, taking risks, making creative decisions that only humans can make. People matter."

Roan, who has emerged as one of the music business's most influential and vocal new trailblazers, received the Harmonizer Award, which goes to creators who use music to leverage social change. Harmonizer presenter Nancy Wilson praised Roan for "walking the walk" - setting up voter registration and trans mental health awareness booths at her concerts, as well as working with the We Got You Fund to raise more than $500,000 to support mental health in the music community, and with the Midwest Princess Project to uplift and protect LGBTQ+ youth. Roan also memorably used her Grammy podium time last year to advocate for health insurance and livable wages for struggling musicians. She seemed genuinely humbled by the Harmonizer honor, and even a bit flustered in the presence of Heart guitarist Wilson, one of her heroes.

"I get uncomfortable when I get told I'm a good person, and I think that has to do with some type of Christian guilt or something," Roan giggled sheepishly. "But it's cool when people you really look up to think that you're a good person, or that you're doing good things. I only know what to do because I see other people in my life doing good things, and listening to trans people who need representation and money for healthcare and rent. And I kind of think that as an artist, or anybody who has money, it's kind of your duty to give it away. ... I don't really know what's going to happen to women or gay people or people of color, or really anyone, but I think that the only thing that matters is community and kindness, and giving what you have."

Five-time Grammy-nominated family band Haim won the Disruptors Award, which youngest member Alana Haim admitted felt "quite surreal."

"There were plenty of times people, especially in our early days, tried to drive us off our path," she added. "We were told everything under the sun, like: 'No one wants to see girls play instruments," Haim continued. "'Maybe you should dress like schoolgirls as a cute little fun gimmick.' 'Why so many guitar solos?' 'Sound less rock.' But because of our extreme tunnel vision, it was easy to stick to the path. And after being a band for almost 20 years, we get to stand here and say that we are the first all-female rock band to be nominated for Best Rock Album. ... So, we have a message for all you girls out there: Go build your path, pick up instruments, get into the studio, and most importantly, follow your gut - because that's what we did."

Among the night's other two household-name honorees were six-time Grammy winner Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent (the only female solo artist to win multiple Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album), who was recognized as an innovator with the Golden Trifecta Award, presented by 2022 Best New Artist Grammy recipient and avowed Clark fangirl Olivia Rodrigo. (Rodrigo confessed that she'd once written an 11th-grade English paper about the St. Vincent song "Surgeon," to which a visibly moved and amused Clark responded, "Thank you, Olivia. You give me hope for the future, and you are one of the best motherf--kers I've ever met.")

The other was 10-time Grammy-winner Khan, who will also receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy from the Recording Academy this coming weekend. As Khan received the career-impact Luminary Award, presented by longtime friend, Mitchell, she stated: "I've been blessed with a long life in music, and what I've learned is this: Longevity isn't about staying the same. It's about staying open, if you can be open to collaboration, open to new voices, open to change, and open to the people behind the scenes whose creativity help everything you hear. ... And that's why this night matters. When women and all creators are supported, we rise together."

The night's other honors went to lesser-known but equally important women behind the scenes, like superstar songwriter Amy Allen, who received the Calliope Award from crossover jazz darling Laufey. Allen - who is up for four Grammys this year, including Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year (for her work on Sabrina Carpenter's Man's Best Friend), and Song of the Year (for cowriting Carpenter's "Manchild" and the Bruno Mars-Rosé duet "Apt.") - approached the podium and declared, "For far too long, women have been viewed as muses. Poets and lyricists, but not songwriters. Vocalists, but not artists. Players, but not producers. Assistants, but not executives. And I look out there tonight, and I know that all of that has been false all along."

"It's time for women to be given credit for their work in the music industry," Allen continued. "It's way long overdue, and I'm very proud to be here tonight amongst all of you who inspire me endlessly. ... I've experienced firsthand the magic that takes place when women are allowed to be together in a room and you give them their space to channel their innermost feelings of joy, rage, heartbreak, jokes about calling 'men-children,' and turn them into the soundtrack of today. I'm grateful for all of the women who have done that before me, every single one of you who is doing it today with me now, and everybody that will be doing it for the years to come."

Many of the night's honorees shared similar stories of struggling to be taken seriously in the industry. As Alissia, a 2025 Producer of the Year Grammy nominee, was presented with the All-Star Award by Anderson.Paak, she admitted: "I felt so many times in my career that I had to master my craft twice as much just to earn respect - first as a bass player, and then as a producer. And the truth is, we're often still fighting to be seen and heard and respected as women producers. So, to the artists, A&Rs, and labels: When you make that call, consider calling a woman!"

Grammy-nominated Taylor Swift-Gracie Abrams engineer Bella Blakso - who received the Exceptional Ears Award from frequent Swift collaborator and the National band member Aaron Dessner - also said: "When I first started working in studios, although I was determined to be an engineer and super-dedicated to learning my craft, there were moments when I seriously questioned whether or not I belonged there, because it felt so male-dominated. Over time, I came to realize that not only was there space for me in studios, but qualities like being gentle, patient, and feminine could actually be a positive force, and really benefit the studio environment."

Betty Bennett, cofounder of Apogee Electronics, then accepted the Equalizer Award. "Let's be honest, if the needle were moving fast enough on its own, none of us would need to be here tonight," she pointed out. "When I started my career, I didn't walk into the music and audio world thinking, 'I'm going to break barriers.' I walked in thinking, 'Why is everyone assuming I don't know what I'm talking about?' And over time, I realized some important things. Progress doesn't come from grand gestures. Sometimes it comes from staying in the room long enough that people stop being surprised you're there."

Among this year's Resonator Hall of Fame inductees were producers-engineers Elaine Martone, Jaime Sickora, Judith Sherman, Mary Mazurek, and Michelle Sabolchick. Songwriter Allee Willis and DJ-producer-songwriter SOPHIE, who respectively died in 2019 and 2021, were inducted posthumously.

The 2026 Resonator Awards ceremony, which was hosted by indie-rock comic Fred Armisen, included a performance by British R&B trio Flo; Margo Price and My Morning Jacket's Jim James covering Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere"; and a Chaka Khan tribute featuring Khan's goddaughter Sia, Greg Kurstin, Thundercat, Haim's Danielle Haim, Maggie Rogers, and Grace Bowers. The epic, inspiring evening climaxed with a wailing Lalah Hathaway-Chaka Khan surprise duet on the fitting empowerment anthem "Through the Fire."

"This past year has been heavy for so many in our community, from the devastating wildfires that destroyed homes, studios, and lifetimes of work, to the civil unrest, uncertainty, and upheaval that so many of us have been carrying. So, being together now like this matters," Lazar declared proudly. "It reminds us that even when things feel unstable, the creative community still shows up for one another."