Gender Parity in the Media

I’ve successfully booked over 7,500 guests for radio and podcast interviews, and here’s the main thing I’ve learned:

Men are easier to convince to appear as guests than women are. And it’s not because women are busier, or because men are better at being on air. It’s mainly because countless women experience imposter syndrome.

Now, what is imposter syndrome? Essentially, it’s not feeling like you’re qualified for the position that you already hold. Even though these women are bright, intelligent, and capable, they don’t feel like they’re the best person for the job. They tend to be resistant to accepting interview requests, because they assume there’s someone out there with more experience and more to say on the subject, completely discrediting their own unique perspective and capabilities.

Men don’t seem to struggle with this to the same degree that women do. In fact, I’ve noticed that a man with a very narrow scope of expertise in a given field is more likely to agree to be a guest than a woman who has an extensive background in the subject.

So, what does this mean?

In order to prioritize gender parity in both podcasts and mainstream media, we as hosts and producers need to be willing to convince women that they are smart, capable and valued voices. We need to go out of our way to reach out to women and people of colour to appear on our shows. And, we need to provide the support that they need in order to be successful.