Marcella Araica Is Making Space for More Women in Music: 'You Can't Just Do It All on Your Own' (Exclusive)

The hit-making audio engineer will speak at PEOPLE’s Women In The Mix panel hosted by the Recording Academy and Sephora on February 1

Sound engineer Marcella Araica broke into the male-dominated music industry and rose to success. Now she is creating space for the next generation of women.

During her career, she made a name for herself helping artists such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Madonna mix some of their biggest hits, including Spears’ 2007 single “Gimme More,” Keri Hilson’s Grammy-nominated “Knock” You Down” and Pink’s pop-rock anthem “Sober,” among other iconic songs.

Now, on February 1, Araica will join artists including Carly Pearce and Jordin Sparks to speak at PEOPLE’s Women In The Mix panel (held in partnership with the Recording Academy and Sephora) about creating space and opportunities for even greater representation of women in the music industry.

Marcella Araica.

Bernard Coulter and Daniel Russo

As a female engineer, Araica’s place in music history was never guaranteed. She didn’t even realize how much men dominate the music world until she enrolled in a production and recording studio at Full Sail University. The ratio inside her classroom was staggering: in a class with about 160 students, Araica was often one of only five women.

After graduating from Full Sail, Araica knew the odds were still stacked against her.

“I was told over and over that it was a male-dominated business,” she tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t really care about gender. It was more about work. I wanted to be an engineer, I wanted to be the best engineer.”

With passion on her side, she remained steadfast, although some encounters with male colleagues and associates reflected some of the doubts Araica faced in her professional environment.

Marcella Araica.

Bernard Coulter and Daniel Russo

“A lot of people didn’t really believe or understand my role as a woman in the music business,” she recalls. “I would get comments like, ‘Oh, where’s the engineer?’ Or I’d get, ‘Are you the engineer’s girlfriend?’ I would have to say, ‘No, I’m an engineer.'”

Today, as an established professional, Araica enjoys working with artists of all genders, but her presence in the studio reinforces her connection with some female singers. She remembers working with Pink as a particularly poignant example of that implicit bond shared by women in music.

“She was so stupid,” Araica says of the Grammy-winning singer. “She didn’t necessarily point out that I was an engineer girl, but you could tell there was a friendship there. It was just a great feeling of empowering women.”

Marcella Araica.

Bernard Coulter and Daniel Russo

Ten years ago, she committed to making the studio a safer place for people like her. Araica used her own business acumen to launch the Red Bottoms Foundation, a mentoring project aimed at empowering up-and-coming women and guiding them toward employment opportunities in the entertainment industry.

“I’ve been creating a network of new and established women in the industry so they can all have each other’s backs on their journey,” Araica explains, adding that she’ll be running studio sessions teaching audio engineering skills like Pro Tools and microphone techniques.

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Marcella Araica.

Lisa Lake/WireImage

Some of the mentors of the Red Bottoms Foundation – with whom Araica still works, more than 10 years later – were young mothers or mothers-to-be. As a mom to a 9-year-old son, the mixing expert emphasizes the importance of finding “your village, because you can’t do everything by yourself, it’s impossible.”

“Just because we’re women and mothers… It doesn’t mean you have to stop your career or not have a career because you want to raise a family,” she says — a sentiment echoed by Recording Academy executives.

Personally, Araica found her own balance by setting a defined work week.

“Monday through Friday, I’m all to myself. And then those weekends are dedicated to my family and I’m just there for them,” she tells PEOPLE, noting that her boundaries haven’t caused her to lose out on job opportunities: “There’s a lot of respect when that in question,” she adds.

Marcella Araica.

Marcella Araica/Instagram

In addition to her mentorship with the Red Bottoms Foundation, Araica often speaks to students of all ages about finding and pursuing their passions and interests. During these school visits, she noticed that the next generation of women “are really trying to dissect what it is that they want to do and their ability to do it.”

“Women feel more comfortable,” she continues. “The number of women who really want to break in [the music industry] it became much more.”

Araica hopes that other presenters will recognize that same spark in the younger audience.

“If we can get more women to have the courage to open that door for the next one, that would be something for me to smile about forever,” she says.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education