A Wellington rock band have been refused a gig at an indie venue because they don't feature "at least one non-male".

Rory McDonald, 17, said Caroline, in Manners St in the central city, told him his four-piece alt-metal band Lucifer Gunne did not fit the venue's diversity quota.

He sent a message saying: "I'm wondering why there is a requirement for one non-male member, could you please elaborate?"

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Caroline in Manners St, Wellington. Its management has defended its diversity policy saying it was a "starting point to include at least one woman for every night there is a show''.

Caroline event manager Emi Pogoni​ replied: "It's just our policy to encourage diversity in the music industry. If you can't or won't, then we don't need to book you."

READ MORE:

* Kate Sheppard suffrage play offers women a 9.4 per cent discount to match the gender pay gap

* Trade Me users hit back at criticism over 'no heterosexuals' listing for Wellington flat

* Gender diversity easier to campaign for than class diversity

* Venue rejects Anika Moa over sexuality

McDonald posted about the issue on the Wellington Musicians' Society Facebook page, but said he had to delete it when the discussion descended into misogyny and abuse.

NATALIE POLLEY Anika Moa agreed with Caroline's policy, saying it made sense to have more female musicians in festival and club lineups.

He said he initially found Caroline's position discriminatory, but later softened, saying he understood its opinion but questioned whether it should be a policy.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Pogoni confirmed Caroline had a diversity policy for music events, but it did not apply to every band.

"Our policy when booking shows is to ask that there is at least one woman in an event's lineup, in our aim to foster diversity and representation in Wellington's music scene.

"We welcome all-male bands, and we often book such acts. We just ask that, over the entire evening's event, there is one woman or non-male performer across the number of acts booked. They may be a part of a support act, if not in the headline act."

All acts were signed off by Caroline staff before confirmation or announcement of the event, and any issues usually arose ahead of event confirmation when terms and conditions were discussed.

"There are many great women musicians in Wellington, yet a lot of lineups will still be entirely male, both at the grassroots level through to festival-scale events. It is just a starting point to include at least one woman for every night there is a show at Caroline," Pogoni said.

Singer Anika Moa agreed with Caroline's policy and said it made sense to have more female musicians in festival and club lineups to get equality among musicians in an industry that was male-dominated both on the stage and behind the scenes.

All lineups should have 30 to 40 per cent "girl bands or bands with girls" to redress the imbalance.

"At some stage we need to start giving wāhine some jobs in the music industry. There's so many great female acts in this country that need to be booked."

A Human Rights Commission spokeswoman said there were provisions under the Human Rights Act that prohibited discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

"If someone believes they have been discriminated against, they can make a complaint to us and we will consider whether the legislation, and any exceptions, might apply and will deal with the complaint through our usual dispute resolution processes."

- Comments on this story have been closed