Alicia Keys says hiring women should be standard, not the exception

American singer, Alicia Key, who was honoured with Billboard magazine’s Impact Award on Friday hopes to make a difference by employing women.

Speaking at a brunch in Los Angeles to celebrate her new award, the 38-year-old singer opened up about struggles for women in the music industry, and how she is doing her part through her She Is the Music initiative to “shift the numbers.”

The Grammy award-winning artist said her inspiration to start the organization comes from looking at statistics. She found out that women only make up 17% of artists in the Top 100 on Billboard this year,  and 12.3 percent of songwriters.

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This  “deep and disturbing gap” prompted her to take action and she aims to give women the opportunity to make waves in their careers.

Alicia highlighted how the same people are recommended over and over again, and generally its a man.

She wants hiring women to become a part of standard operations in the industry, not something people have to consciously think about.