MIW’s Latest Gender Analysis Study
• For the last 20 years, the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW) Group has compiled and analyzed the number of women in radio broadcasting who are rising to the ranks of management. Data gathered for this annual MIW Gender Analysis Study specifically tracks the progress of female professionals holding the positions of General Manager, Sales Manager and Program Director. The MIW Gender Analysis Study has been consistently released, utilizing the same methodology, since 2000.
General Managers: 19.5% (2189 stations) had women holding the GM position in 2019 — a slight increase from 2018. Notably this number continues to show consistent growth from 2004, when the percentage of female GMs was only 14.9%. In the top 100 markets, the number of women GMs continues to run slightly higher than the national average and shows very positive growth year-over-year. In 2019, 21.1% of stations in these larger markets were managed by women, compared to 19.2% in 2018.
Sales Managers: Overall, the best management opportunities for women in radio continue to be in sales management, where 33.1% (3,715 stations) had a woman sales manager in 2019, up from 32.6% in 2018. In the top 100 markets, 34.77% of stations had women serving as Sales Managers in 2019, up from 32.97% in 2018.
Program Directors: The greatest challenge for women in radio management continues to be in the area of Program Director — women currently program only 11.62% (1,304 stations) versus 10.6% last year. On a positive note, this is the first time this number has grown in 14 years. The news is better in the top 100 markets, where female programmers represent 13.30% of the total number of PDs, up from 11.47% in 2018.
MIW National Spokeswoman Denyse Mesnik says, “The MIW Gender Analysis Study is the impetus for the MIW’s mentoring programs that serve female professionals in all aspects of the radio industry. When the numbers on our annual analysis rise, as they did slightly this year, we work even harder to encourage and mentor our female colleagues who are striving for, and/or have achieved, management positions in radio.”
The figures and percentages shown represent the calendar year 2019 and are reflective of 11,225 AM and FM American radio stations, using PrecisionTrak radio industry data as of December 31, 2019.
