Study Affirms Country Radio’s Gender Bias Is Only Getting Worse

An updated study by SongData which showed that on average just 18.4% of the songs played in country radio from 2000 to 2018 were by women, shows the format’s overwhelming gender bias only getting worse.

The original study led to much public discussion but appears to have led little concrete change.

It’s Gotten Even Worse For Women On Country Radio

The updated study looked at the last 5 years which proved to be “particularly alarming years for country music culture.”

Despite heightened awareness of inequality on radio since 2015, the number of women and even male-female ensembles and their songs declined to drastic points. “Women received such an incredibly small percentage of radio airplay that they did not receive enough spins to tank in the top positions of the weekly charts or even make the Top 10 of the yearend reports,” according to the updated study.

“With so few songs by women included in daily programming, audiences are becoming increasingly unfamiliar with women’s voices and stories. This is damaging to the genre, to its artists building careers from the exposure radio provides, and to the audience that looks to radio as a guide for what constitutes current country music. It also sends a harmful message about how women are valued in society.”

A 7-page Brief provides a snapshot of the study’s findings. The full analysis can be read in the Report.