Women Are Becoming A More Prominent Influence In Podcasting

Jenn Trepeck, creator/ big of Salad With A Side Of Fries is nary alien to women's podcast awards. In 2022, she was nominated for the International Women’s Podcast Award for Visionary Leadership. In 2025, she won the Stellar Award for the Women Who Podcast Magazine awards, and she won 2nd spot 2026 successful the Changing The world category.

Jenn Trepeck

If you perceive to podcaster Joe Rogan and his manosphere ideology, men consciousness trapped by financial burdens, bills, mortgages, and family commitments. Yet, a study by the Gender Equity Policy Institute shows that mothers walk astir double the magnitude of clip connected childcare and home activity compared to fathers. This disparity persists moreover erstwhile some partners activity full-time aliases erstwhile women gain much arsenic superior breadwinners.

According to the NIH, studies connected family guidance bespeak that women often transportation the invisible cognitive and affectional labor—such arsenic family scheduling, anticipating needs, and coordinating logistics—often referred to arsenic the "mental load."

Here’s Jennifer Moss, Co-founder / Chief Creative Officer astatine JAR Podcast Solutions, discussing gender roles successful podcasting: “ The kinds of horrendous opinions astir women that are shared successful immoderate bro podcasts are concerning successful that these shows power young men. Personally, I find that I tin tune retired the podcast bro-sho manosphere beautiful easily. Almost excessively easily. Podcasting is simply a self-selected prime based medium. You’re not forced to perceive to thing you don’t want to hear. This is simply a double edged sword: it intends you get tons of choices, which is great, but it tin besides foster siloed reasoning successful immoderate instances: particularly if your provender is only afloat of group you work together with. I effort to consciously situation myself successful this regard.”

Podcasting isn’t that different from immoderate industries. When it began, men dominated because early adopters were mostly tech enthusiasts, programmers, and hobbyists. This group was heavy antheral astatine the time.

This early imbalance carried forward. Studies of apical charts complete the years—including reports from Forbes successful 2018 and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative successful caller years—show that men proceed to big the mostly of top-ranking podcasts.

Despite the challenges, women person made superior inroads successful the podcasting industry, some successful beforehand and down the microphone. In this article, we will look astatine women’s increasing power successful podcasting, the spread that still persists, and 2 women-only podcast awards that exemplify the advancement women person made wrong the industry.

What the investigation shows

The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released a landmark study successful November 2025 revealing terrible gender and group disparities among the creators and guests of celebrated podcasts.

According to the study, the podcast genres that were astir often hosted by women see existent crime, arts, nine and civilization (which the researchers put into 1 category), news and education.

The researchers besides recovered that complete 77% of the apical 100 hosts were achromatic — leaving a batch of communities retired of the conversation.

The Annenberg investigation points retired that wrong the Top 100 podcasts from 2024, only 11 female hosts were from racially underrepresented backgrounds. Several of them are existent aliases erstwhile NPR anchors.

The researchers opportunity the gender and group inequities they've identified successful the podcasting arena are acold greater than successful akin investigation they've done successful the movie, TV and euphony industries. According to their astir caller data, only 22.3% of podcast hosts travel from underrepresented groups; by contrast, much than 44% of some regular actors connected TV bid and artists moving successful celebrated euphony are group different than achromatic men, while 25.2% of actors starring aliases co-leading films are from underrepresented groups.

" As the format matures, that accessibility tin thief situation the aged patterns of intermezo and pave the measurement for a much inclusive audio landscape."

This is the first clip that the Annenberg squad has delved into podcasting.

“Female hosts are outnumbered by astir 2 to 1 crossed celebrated podcasts,” the study states. “The only abstraction wherever women scope 50% of hosts is successful existent crime — wherever stories attraction connected grisly acts often committed against women.”

Genre Gender Gaps Run Deep

The gender imbalance is not azygous crossed podcast categories. The study recovered that antheral hosts predominate each genre isolated from True Crime, wherever women somewhat separator retired men (53% to 47%).

“Business & Tech, Sports & Fitness and Comedy were almost solely the genres antheral hosts worked in,” the study says. Business and Technology podcasts were the astir male-dominated, pinch 92.3% of hosts being men, a ratio of 12 to 1. In Sports & Fitness, men made up 81.1% of hosts (4.3 to 1 ratio), and successful Comedy, 76.4% of hosts were antheral (3.2 to 1).

The study besides highlights a technological divide. It says much than three-fifths (62.3%) of podcasts pinch all-male hosts included video, whereas 46.7% of the podcasts pinch astatine slightest 1 female big featured video. Across the broader 592-show sample, that shape persisted — 61.4% of all-male podcasts utilized video vs. 49.6% of those pinch female hosts.

The study argues that specified differences matter because “podcasts pinch video components are often much visible to algorithms, promoted much heavy connected platforms, and much apt to pull sponsorships,” reinforcing antheral power successful assemblage scope and monetization.

And the victor is…

“As an industry, podcasting tends to beryllium collaborative and collegial,” notes Lashay Jones from Willow Grove Communications. “In podcasting, women are particularly supportive of each other. We do that by designing grant programs for women, since the men look to predominate the existing grant programs.”

The Women Who Podcast Magazine Awards is an yearly world awards programme created by Women Who Podcast Magazine to grant and observe independent, women-identified podcasters. The grant was founded by Kathy Barron, Editor-in-Chief of Women Who Podcast Magazine. Its ngo is to spotlight the imaginative power, originality, influence, and invention of women successful the podcasting industry. The awards champion underrepresented voices and independent creators, providing a dedicated level for nickname and organization growth.

The Women Who Podcast Magazine Awards were announced successful mid-August by the Women Who Podcast Magazine. Listen to Kathy Barron, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Women Who Podcast magazine: "Women podcasters are a captious beingness successful the podcasting world, and it’s astir clip a publication gave them the accolades that they deserve."

Jenn Trepeck, creator/host of Salad With A Side Of Fries, who won successful the 2o25 Stellar Interview class and placed 2nd successful 2026 successful the Changing The World category, noted: "As first spot victor of the stellar question and reply category, I'm honored and genuinely proud. Having nary general training successful publicity aliases interviewing, this is simply a testament to the time, attention, and attraction I put into my preparation, genuine curiosity, and ngo to alteration the authorities of healthcare by empowering listeners to reclaim their health."

In 2026, The Hairy Chin Podcast, hosted and produced by female wellness advocator Spencer Moore, won 4 Women Who Podcast Magazine Awards: Best successful Show, first spot successful the Profound Nugget category, 2nd spot successful the Bare Your Soul category, and Best Cover Art. The podcast won each 4 honors successful the first podcast awards title it entered.

“The deeper I spell into this work, the much profound the emotion becomes that, while it started arsenic a passion project, it has go my purpose,” said Spencer Moore, laminitis and big of The Hairy Chin Podcast. “Recognition for illustration this pushes conversations astir female wellness further into the mainstream. With each caller listener, location is different opportunity to summation awareness, supply education, and thief women go assured and progressive participants successful their healthcare.”

The Caregiver Breathing Room is simply a short-form play podcast hosted by Charlotte Bayala that offers five-minute guided breathing resets and grounding exercises for caregivers. The show won 3 Women Who Podcast Awards, arsenic did the Cancer Caregiver podcast besides created and hosted by Charlotte Bayala. In 2025, the Cancer Caregiver podcast won 3 awards.

In an interview, Charlotte said, "Through the awards, reviews, and backstage feedback group springiness maine I cognize the shows make a quality for the group who listen. But sometimes erstwhile you’re a squad of 1 sitting successful a acheronian room astatine 5:00 AM signaling an section aliases penning a script, I find that loneliness is besides sitting successful that room pinch me. Being an indie podcaster isn’t for the weak. I’ve had to punctual myself, many
times, who I’m doing this for. Sometimes it’s me. Sometimes it’s them."

Women’s awards spell global

The International Women’s Podcast Awards started successful 2021. The grant was founded by Naomi Mellor of The Skylark Collective, and the first awards ceremonial took spot connected September 23, 2021, astatine the AllBright successful London.

This year, the International Women’s Podcast Awards are returning pinch a caller team, caller branding, a caller location, and each the aforesaid emotion of the creation of podcasting. With Tink Media stepping successful arsenic this year’s host, the arena will grow its scope and visibility while staying existent to its founding intent of championing world women creators successful audio some down the mic and down the scenes, from podcast hosts and producers, to editors and writers.

Entries conscionable closed past week connected August 14th, 2026. To show the grant program’s committedness to indie podcasters, the introduction interest is only $50.

The 2026 International Women’s Podcast Awards ceremonial will beryllium held successful Toronto, Canada, connected October 8, 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art

Lauren Passell, laminitis of Tink Media, says, “The joyousness of podcasting lies successful its intimacy. In the ambiance created betwixt the creators and listeners. In the moments of unthinkable sensitivity, humor, aliases honesty that support group engrossed. The International Women’s Podcast Awards celebrates these friendly moments of podcasting brilliance, and the group that make them happen. We are dissimilar different awards… We don’t look astatine the genre your podcast is in, and we don’t attraction really galore downloads you’ve had. Furthermore, we’re conscionable looking for your exceptional moments of audio brilliance. The ones that make you the astir proud of your podcast. The ones you’d take to show disconnected to others.”

A increasing influence

Women proceed to turn successful prominence successful some the boardroom, signaling studio, and editing room successful podcasting. Yet, a spread still persists. Studies bespeak that astir 35% of podcasts are female-founded aliases hosted by women, compared to 65% by men. Major financial investments, high-profile sponsorships, and monolithic world distribution deals still disproportionately skew toward male-led aliases male-dominated genres for illustration sports, tech, and comedy.

However, affirmative trends exist. Women heavy lead aliases outnumber men successful high-engagement categories for illustration existent crime, relationships, self-improvement, and society-and-culture. Female-focused and manner podcasts thrust unthinkable user spot and higher ad-conversion rates, making women’s-centric shows premier spaces for marque influence.

It’s easy to hide the barriers erected to support women from forging their ain identity. After all, it was only a small complete 70 years agone that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor successfully graduated from Stanford Law School successful 1952, yet backstage rule firms successful California turned her down for lawyer positions solely because she was a woman, offering her a occupation arsenic a ineligible caput instead. She collapsed done by offering to activity for free for a region lawyer successful San Mateo, California, which led to a paid position arsenic a lawman region attorney.

Rosalind Franklin captured the captious X-ray diffraction image that proved the double-helix building of DNA. Yet her information was shown without her support to James Watson and Francis Crick, who won the Nobel Prize. Franklin died earlier nickname was given.

Alice Ball was a pioneering African-American chemist who created the "Ball Method," the astir effective injectable curen for leprosy successful the early 20th century. She died astatine property 24, and the assemblage president took in installments for her investigation earlier her sanction was restored decades later.

Jenn Trepeck, creator/ big of Salad With A Side Of Fries, summarized these awards champion erstwhile she said, "The value of awards that item women successful the antheral dominated podcast manufacture is difficult to overstate. Further, Women Who Podcast Magazine's awards support the independent creators who are often nether the radar, not getting the aforesaid attraction arsenic celebrity-hosted shows yet make a powerful quality successful listeners' lives."

Lauren Passell, laminitis of Tink Media, underscores the request for women-focused recognition. "The International Women’s Podcast Awards are important to america because women’s voices and women’s stories are excessively often nether funded and not recognized. Tink has been a protagonist of the IWPA for years, truthful it was specified a earthy fresh to measurement successful arsenic hosts this year. We are a women-run institution made of group perfectly obsessed pinch sound. What I person learned successful organizing truthful acold is that it takes existent passion and productivity and joyousness for thing to make it win and sing. We attraction truthful much, I don't deliberation it would activity if we didn't."

Despite their achievements and advancement successful podcasting, women still look beardown headwinds. Jennifer Moss observes: “Women, who are now 48% of the full podcast audience, will actively activity a host, aliases a taxable that feels applicable to their lives. 55% of women make this benignant of conscious intentional prime erstwhile picking content. Men don’t do this arsenic much— because moreover to this time — they simply don’t person to because the mean mostly defaults to their perspective. There has been immoderate improvement. Of the apical 100 shows I judge now 36% are hosted aliases cohosted by women. So that’s a important summation complete the past 15 years aliases so. But past erstwhile you look person astatine those apical 100 shows, astir 73% of each guests are men.”