Boston, MA (5/21/12): According to the latest MIW Gender Analysis Study released by the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group (MIWs), out of 11,226 AM and FM radio stations accounted for by MStreet Publications as of December 31, 2011, 1807 or 16.6% have women holding the GM position in 2011. That number is up slightly from 2010 which was 16.1% and shows continued growth from 2004, seven years ago when the percentage was only 14.9. The annual study is complied, analyzed and released by the MIWs from information provided by *MStreet Publications.
The good news is the trend in the top 100 markets are showing upward movement in 2011 17.4% of stations in these markets were managed by women, compared to 16.7% in 2010. Overall the best management opportunities for women continue to be in Sales Management although there’s been essentially only a minor change for the seven years between 2004 and 2011. In 2011, 30.5% of all stations had women SMs, up slightly from last year. In the top 100 markets, 32.1% of the stations had women SMs, also up slightly from last year.
The greatest challenge for women in radio management continues to be as programmers: women still only program 11.1% of all stations which compares to 10.7% six years ago. In the top 100 markets, women are not doing much better, programming just 9.6% of all stations.
The MIWs have been analyzing and publishing these gender numbers for the past twelve years,” commented Heidi Raphael, spokesperson on behalf of the MIW Radio Group and vice president of Corporate Communication at Greater Media. “It is very encouraging to see the percentages consistently increase. We look forward to seeing those numbers continue to grow on a larger scale in the future.”
The MIW group of top-level radio women across the country is committed to using their influence and resources to support women in radio to develop strong management and leadership skills. The MIWs are equally committed to advocating the advancement of women to senior positions in radio companies and corporations.
*All information provided by MStreet Publications is subject to the limitations of data provided by radio companies. The analysis is dependent upon the accuracy and completeness of the MStreet data as of December 2011.