public radio

In my role artistic director of the Third Coast International Audio Festival, I've noticed something that bothers me. It’s nothing new, it’s fairly obvious, and it deserves your attention. It’s the lack of female hosts in the ever-widening world of podcasts.

According to the widely-used podcast-delivery phone app Stitcher, as of mid-February, 2013, out of the top 100 podcasts in their system, 71 are hosted by men (many by two or three men), 11 are hosted by women (of which three are just 60 second long podcasts), 9 are co-hosted by a man and woman, and 9 are either NPR or BBC news aggregation podcasts with alternating hosts and reporters, or it’s unclear who hosts. The statistics for iTunes results are similar.

As a radio addict, I generally keep up (or try to) with what’s out there in the audio cosmos. I’ve long been aware that male-hosted podcasts out-number women-hosted podcasts. But the actual numbers floored me. They should alarm you, too. The statistics point to a disappointing truth: that podcasting, hailed back in 2004 as a “revolutionary” new tool for freedom of expression and endless creative opportunity, quickly copped the same gender stereotypes and realities that traditional broadcasting environments have demonstrated throughout history.