MIW Releases Gender Analysis Study

The Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group (MIW’s) just released its 17th annual MIW Gender Analysis Study, which was compiled, analyzed and released by the MIW’s from information provided by PrecisionTrak. Among the findings — out of 11,229 AM and FM radio stations, as accounted for by PrecisionTrak, as of December 31, 2016, 1,944 (17.8%) of these radio stations have women holding the General Manager position in 2016. This is a half-point increase from 2015, which was 17.3% and continues to show growth from 2004, when the percentage was only 14.9%. In the Top 100 radio markets, the number of female GMs is almost the same as the national average when evaluating all markets. In 2016, women managed 17.7% of stations in these markets, which compares to 16.3% in 2015.

Overall, the study reveals that sales management continues to provide the best management opportunities for women — In 2016, 31.5% of all stations had a female sales manager, which is up one full percentage point from the prior year. And in the top 100 markets, 31.4% of the stations have women.

The greatest challenge for women in radio management continues to be found in the programming department — women currently program only 10.7% of all stations in the country, which is about the same percentage as ten years ago. The news is slightly better in the top 100 markets, where women programmers now represent 12.2%, which is basically flat from last year. “It is so important that we track women in broadcast leadership roles,” says MIW Group spokeswoman Kay Olin. “Not only does it keep us focused on our MIW mission, it keeps us focused on supporting and growing a leadership path for female professionals that have chosen a career in radio broadcasting.”