MIW Releases 2024 Annual Gender Analysis Study

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, March 6, 2025 | 2:50pm CT

Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW)

The latest findings from the annual MIW Gender Analysis Study reveal varied progress in the representation of women within radio broadcasting management roles across the U.S. Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW), a nonprofit organization committed to promoting female leadership in the radio industry, released the report which indicates a nuanced landscape of advancements and setbacks in gender diversity at managerial levels.

The study, which tracks women in key managerial positions such as General Managers, Sales Managers, and Program Directors/Brand Managers, draws from data collected by PrecisionTrak from 11,215 AM and FM radio stations nationwide.

In 2024, women held 21.67% of General Manager roles across the surveyed stations, marking a slight decline of 0.5% from 2023. Despite this year-over-year drop, the long-term trend shows significant improvement from 2004 when only 14.9% of such positions were filled by women. The representation of women in General Manager positions within the Top 100 markets stands slightly higher at 22.92%, though this is a decrease from the previous year.

Conversely, Sales Manager roles saw a notable increase in female representation. Nationally, 35.67% of these positions were held by women, up from 34.37% in 2023. This trend was even more pronounced in the Top 100 markets, where 42.94% of Sales Managers were women, demonstrating a substantial growth of nearly 8% over the previous year.

The most significant challenges for female advancement appear in the roles of Program Directors and Brand Managers, where women managed only 12.38% of stations. This figure represents a modest increase from 11.50% in 2023. Within the Top 100 markets, women held 11.23% of these roles, showing an improvement from the previous year but still trailing behind the national average.

Sheila Kirby, President of the MIW Board, expressed a mixed response to the findings. "While we are encouraged by the progress in sales management and programming, the overall numbers show that there is still significant work to be done," she stated. "Leadership opportunities for women in radio must continue to grow, and our mission at MIW remains steadfast-empowering, mentoring, and advocating for more women to rise into key decision-making roles across the industry."

The MIW Gender Analysis Study serves as a benchmark for the industry's progress toward gender equality in leadership roles, reflecting both the strides made and the distances yet to be covered.