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Edison Research and SiriusXM have released a new report called The Women’s 2022 Podcast Report. 1,500 women over the age of 18, who listen to podcasts every month, were surveyed in August. Here are some of the highlights from the report…
- Over 1 in 3 U.S. Women 18+ (35%) have listened to a podcast in the past month. This is up 67% over the past 5 years, and now represents an estimated 47 million women.
- In 2017, only 44% of U.S. 18+ monthly podcast listeners were female. In 2022 48% are female, more closely mirroring the U.S. population.
- Women – on average - listen to 5.7 different genres or topics.
- Of those studied, 2 in 3 women listen to podcasts in the home most often, with 6 in 10 sometimes ever listening in a car/vehicle. Further, 3 in 4 women listen to podcasts via mobile devices (smartphone or tablet) most often.
- 75% of women say they listen to podcasts to be entertained while doing mundane tasks: housework/chores (69%), cooking/baking (59%), laundry (57%), getting ready for the day (55%), eating (52%), exercising (50%), getting ready for bed (48%), and running errands (42%).
- 73% of women listeners find out about new podcasts to listen to from friends and family - their top discovery source.
- More than 8 in 10 women listeners recommend podcasts to their friends and family (84%). And 2 in 10 listeners (add percent) are frequent recommenders - with Gen Z, women aged 35-44, multicultural listeners, and moms over-indexing.
- Women listeners’ reasons for sharing podcasts range from simple entertainment to deeper emotional motivations. 75% shared a podcast because it inspired them, 47% shared because they wanted to have a deeper connection with someone, 47% shared because they wanted to share their feelings with someone, and more than 30% shared because it made them cry. Of these groups, Gen Z and Black Women are the most likely groups to look for deeper connections when sharing a podcast recommendation with others.
- The top categories women listen to are: Comedy leads overall, followed by true crime, love & relationships, entertainment/celebrity/gossip, news & information, and wellness/self-Improvement.
- Women engage with their favorite shows via social media, with 56% of monthly listeners having followed a podcast on social media, 51% having followed a podcast host on social media, and 40% having shared a podcast on social media.
- They follow hosts/shows on social media to stay up to date on the show (60%), to show their support of the show (58%), and to feel more connected with the community (37%), even talking to other listeners through social channels (32%).
- The report concludes there is still room for growth when it comes to amplifying voices of women of color in podcasting. “Among monthly listeners, 57% of Multicultural Women (and 67% of W18-24) wish that there were more podcasts that focus on women of color. Almost half of Multicultural Women (47%; and 55% of W18-24) have a hard time finding podcasts that focus on women of color.”