Black Women in Radio. Challenges. Barriers. Finding Your Voice

Episode Talking Points:

In 2019, it was reported that more women listen to the radio than men but men listen longer. This trend, which has been showing up in Nielsen listening estimates for more than a decade, is all the more noteworthy today in light of new data showing women spend nearly 73 hours a week consuming media. Nov 21, 2019

Black women podcast listeners are more likely to be monthly listeners and Black men podcast listeners are more likely to be weekly listeners: Among Black monthly podcast listeners, 55% are women, but among Black weekly podcast listeners 52% are men.

Representation matters to Black podcast listeners: 75% of Black monthly podcast listeners frequently or occasionally follow or seek out content that focuses on Black stories and perspectives on podcasts. 

According to Soto, “The report’s findings illustrate the opportunity and value of Black representation. The data depicts a clear and untapped craving for Black stories and perspectives in podcasting. And the benefits of these stories to advertisers are on full display when we consider Black listeners’ high level of engagement with advertising brands on shows with Black hosts.”

Source: https://www.zippia.com/radio-broadcaster-jobs/demographics/

Research Summary. Using a database of 30 million profiles, Zippia estimates demographics and statistics for radio hosts in the United States. Our estimates are verified against Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census, and current job openings data for accuracy. After extensive research and analysis, Zippia’s data science team found that:

• There are over 11,542 radio hosts currently employed in the United States.
• 39.3% of all radio hosts are women, while 60.7% are men.
• The average age of an employed radio host is 49 years old.
• The most common ethnicity of radio hosts is White (72.6%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (13.6%), Black or African American (5.7%) and Asian (4.3%).