Speakers
- Cristen Conger (Speaker) Speaker, Unladylike
- Caroline Ervin (Speaker) Speaker, Unladylike
Description
In this bra-burner of a presentation, Unladylike hosts Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin do their very favorite thing and unpack the claptrap of everyday patriarchy — only this time inside the world of podcasting. Because did y’all know podcasting went “mainstream” last year? That’s according to the 2019 Infinite Dial Report, which found that, for the first time, a majority of Americans have listened to a podcast. Trouble is, that “mainstream” audience not only remains disproportionately white, dudely, and moneyed — it’s also become even whiter and dudelier in the past year. (Not to mention the absence of LGBTQ and disability data that could inform more accessabilty gaps.)
It’s easy to overlook the broader pod-triarchy and relish the caliber, range, and innovation women have brought to the medium—especially if you’re a couple white-privileged ladies like us! But in order to create an inclusive, accessible podcasting future that takes us beyond the mainstream and de-niches our content, we have to smash the pod-triarchy with before white-dudeness becomes institutionalized and engrained, just like as it has in pretty much every other professional space ever. In a year that’s seen some seismic industry power moves, it’s a critical moment to assess the landscape through intersectionally feminist binoculars. With Unladylike’s signature blend of stats, outrageous history, and personal insights from a decade of podcasting together, Cristen and Caroline will do just that and pump up the crowd to start a pod revolution!
Questions we’ll explore:
– Do we take women’s podcasting opportunities?
– How does the persistent “male voice” of podcasting affect who gets heard, who listens, and who rules the biz?
– What voices dominate the charts, what voices get drowned out?
– How do we close the pod-listener gender gap, while attracting more than middle-class-white-ladies to the fold?
