In the podcasting world, as in so much of life, men get to do most of the talking. As of this writing, just 18 of iTunes’s top 100 podcasts are hosted by women. Twelve have female co-hosts. And 70 are hosted by one or more men.But despite this imbalance, podcasting has the potential to democratize the legacy broadcasting industry. Already, women-hosted shows are elevating marginalized voices and tackling intimate issues that we rarely discuss in our public lives. I believe that podcasts’ ability to engage people in difficult conversations may well influence the way we relate to one another in the rest of our lives—and that this change will be driven not just by women hosts, but by the increasing number of women listeners who are tuning in.Back in 2005, a survey done for advertisers by Podtrac, Inc. found that 78% of podcast listeners were men and 22% were women. Many in the audio business quickly assumed that more men listened simply because they were more likely to adopt new technology generally. Now, a recent study from Edison Research shows that women account for 44% of podcast listenership.
Source: Women-led podcasts take a risk others won’t: admitting they don’t know everything — Quartz