Bros really are dominating podcasting

"Nearly a third of all Americans listen to or watch podcasts every week but far more often than not, it's men's voices that they're hearing. According to a new study from researchers at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, podcast hosts skew heavily male, and so do their guests. The researchers dug into data from over 600 of the most popular podcasts of 2024, using data from Spotify. They found that within the top 100, nearly two-thirds were hosted by men and nearly three-quarters of all guests were male, too."

"The researchers also found that over 77% of the top 100 hosts were white leaving a lot of communities out of the conversation. The Annenberg research points out that within the Top 100 podcasts from 2024, only 11 female hosts were from racially underrepresented backgrounds. Several of them are current or former NPR anchors. The researchers say the gender and racial inequities they've identified in the podcasting arena are far greater than in similar research they've done in the movie, TV and music industries."

"The researchers say the gender and racial inequities they've identified in the podcasting arena are far greater than in similar research they've done in the movie, TV and music industries. According to their most recent data, only 22.3% of podcast hosts come from underrepresented groups; by contrast, more than 44% of both regular actors on TV series and artists working in popular music are people other than white men, while 25.2% of actors leading or co-leading films are from underrepresented groups."

Nearly a third of Americans listen to or watch podcasts weekly. Podcast hosts and guests skew heavily male. Within the top 100 podcasts of 2024, nearly two-thirds of hosts were men and nearly three-quarters of guests were male. Women are particularly underrepresented in business, tech, sports, fitness, and comedy genres. Genres most frequently hosted by women include true crime, arts, society and culture, news, and education. Over 77% of top 100 hosts were white, and only 11 female hosts were from racially underrepresented backgrounds. Only 22.3% of podcast hosts come from underrepresented groups, lower than comparable shares in TV and music.

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