Shania Twain thinks women need to "fight harder" to have their voice heard.
The ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ hitmaker feels that women – in country music and across all professions – have to shout a lot louder than the "average male" to be heard and recognised for their successes.
She said: "I think women in every platform in life need to make more of a statement, not necessarily be louder, just they have to know themselves better. They need to almost excel beyond the average male in order to be heard, to stand out enough … and to be recognised. A lot of that is just lack of opportunity, so we have to fight harder in order to get our opportunity."
And the 54-year-old singer feels that women are "always on guard".
She added: "We’re always on guard, and I think that that was just my whole feeling growing up, not just because I was a woman, but also just because I grew up poor, I was disadvantaged in a lot of ways. And being in the country music industry as a woman can be a disadvantage. It’s just a fact."
Meanwhile, Shania insists she would never "downplay her femininity" so she would be more "respected" as an artist.
She shared to Good Morning America: "I never felt it was right to ask me to downplay my femininity just to be respected for my art. I resented that and I thought, ‘No, in fact, I’m going to make my very first video braless – because I’m a woman, and I don’t feel like I need to strap myself down anymore, which is what I always did when I was in high school."