Women Make Significant Gains In Podcast Engagement

The pandemic’s role as a digital adoption accelerant for the masses notwithstanding, many consumers were leaning into on-demand options well before media became a homebound necessity during much of 2020. 

According to Nielsen, the phenomenal growth in podcast engagement over the past seven or eight years—even throughout much of last year—speaks to how consumers increasingly want two things: something that is both relevant to them and available on their schedules.

In concert with a 40% increase in the U.S. population listening to podcasts over the past three years, advertisers continue to tap into the growing medium to reach engaged listeners. Notably, eMarketer forecasted that podcast ad revenue will exceed $2 billion by 2023: that would mean growth of nearly $1 billion in just two years. And amid the 2 million podcast titles featuring 88 million individual episodes, brands should be mindful of a growing core base of listeners: women.

Since 2018, the number of female podcast listeners has increased by 76%. And perhaps more impressive—given that audio engagement is often associated with being away from the home—is the 41% increase since the beginning of the pandemic. The growth of podcast engagement also shows no signs of slowing down, as a recent Nielsen survey found that 61% of paid streaming audio subscribers plan to increase their podcast consumption over the next 12 months.