Women’s Podcast Listenership Triples in Ten Years, New Edison Report Finds.

Powered by greater content diversity and more women in front of the microphone, the number of women who listen to podcasts each month has tripled during the past decade. Edison Research reports 45% of women now report listening to a podcast at least once per month. That compares to 15% in 2015. It means an estimated 60 million U.S. women are reached by podcasts monthly.

The gains come as video plays a larger role in podcast consumption. Edison says when video podcast viewership is added in, the data shows that 52% of women age 18+ now consume podcasts in either audio or video formats each month. That includes a third of women who say they had watched a podcast episode.

“Women now represent a massive audience segment with distinct preferences and behaviors,” Edison VP Megan Lazovick said. “The researcher in me says invest in dedicated audience research to understand the nuanced needs of different female listener segments, but the size of the audience alone is enough to justify all types of investment in this category of listener,” she said Tuesday during a webinar presenting the findings.

The Women’s Audio Report: Women & Podcasts report — released by Edison in partnership with SiriusXM Media — gives ad buyers even more reason when they consider the demographics of the women that are tuning to podcasts. It shows they skew younger than the population overall, with nearly four in ten (39%) ages 18 to 34. They also have higher income levels, as 29% have household incomes that top $100,000. Just over half (51%) have college degrees. And 29% are a parent or guardian of a child.

While the number of women consuming podcasts is on the rise, the report also offers insights of how the medium is maturing. When the previous edition was released three years ago, Edison said that 40% had picked up the habit in the past year. This update shows that has slipped to 37%. And the number of women consuming podcasts for three years or more has risen from 29% in 2022 to 37% today.

“A lot more veteran listeners are sticking around with the medium. And the time spent with podcasts are substantial,” said SiriusXM VP Melissa Paris. “They listen for an average of one hour and 40 minutes daily. That’s a considerable amount of time that they’re choosing to spend with this medium each and every day.”

The survey data reveals 80% of monthly women podcast consumers say they listen “to feel inspired” and nearly two-thirds of monthly women podcast consumers have turned to podcasts to navigate life challenges. More than half (53%) use podcasts to dive deeper into topics, while 44% turn to them to be entertained.

Those motivations are impacting what genres of shows they listen to. Edison says four in ten women say they have consumed a true crime podcast, outranking all other categories. Not far behind are wellness and self-improvement shows, with 35% of women reporting they’ve listened to a podcast in that genre, with 34% saying they listened to an entertainment show — the same number that has listened to a news podcast.

“Women audiences have expansive interests, and they consume an average of six different podcast genres,” said Paris. She said 18- to 34-year-old women index higher on horror, relationship, beauty, drama and children’s podcasts, while women 35 to 54 index higher for technology, true crime, pop culture, and horror. Women 55 and older are most likely to consume news, religion, politics and history shows.

The data offers fresh motivation for publishers to embrace female hosts and producers as Edison finds 31% of women listeners seek out podcasts hosted or produced by women, and 34% wish there were more podcasts that focus on female opinions and perspectives.

“When asked about podcasts that they regularly listen to or watch, 8% of women say that all of them are actually hosted or produced by women,” said Paris. “By age, younger women are far more likely to consume podcasts that are hosted by women.”

The data shows 86% say female hosts can relate to their stories, and 81% said they explain complicated or underrepresented topics, while 62% feel like the hosts are their friends. “Relatability, trust, friendship — all of these are really part of that close connection that women have with the female podcasts they love,” Paris said.

That connection has implications for marketers. Among the women monthly consumers who have heard an ad on a podcast, 75% have acted as a result. And 45% of women monthly consumers are more likely to consider brands that support women-hosted or produced podcasts.

Lazovick said the positive feeling also rubs off on brands that support a podcast, with nearly half (49%) of women saying they feel either “much more” or “somewhat more” favorable about those advertisers — with an even bigger impact among younger women.

“Every brand needs to know just how much good faith they can really earn by supporting a show that a woman loves,” added Paris.

The Women’s Audio Report was based on 2,520 interviews with women age 18+ who had listened to audio in the last month. The study also incorporated statistics from Edison Research’s Infinite Dial series, Share of Ear daily diary listening study, and Edison Podcast Metrics. 

Download the Women’s Audio Report: Women & Podcasts report HERE.