Who Killed the Female YouTube Star? Investigating the Gender Gap in the Creator Economy

Who Killed the Female YouTube Star? Investigating the Gender Gap in the Creator Economy

Why are there only three women in the ranking of the top 50 YouTubers worldwide? This four-part investigative series delves deep into the gender imbalance on YouTube, uncovering why men overwhelmingly dominate the platform as the top earners and most-subscribed channels. Led by industry expert Shoshana Eilon, the series features interviews with YouTubers, journalists, creator economy leaders, and academics, to explore the root causes of this disparity and shed light on the forces driving it.

Episodes

November 4, 2024 38 mins

In the final episode of Who Killed the Female YouTube Star, Shoshana Eilon delves into the role of YouTube’s algorithm in perpetuating the platform’s gender gap. Though YouTube was originally envisioned as a democratized space, its recommendation system now often favors sensational content, creating barriers for female creators. Experts like researcher Ola Kowalewski and journalist Taylor Lorenz explain how algorithmic bias and ad-...

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Why are female creators on YouTube relentlessly targeted with hate? In this episode, host Shoshana Eilon dives into the abuse faced by women on the platform. 


Creators share personal accounts of the vitriol that targets their looks, humor, and credibility, while journalist Taylor Lorenz and gender expert Tamar Saguy unpack the societal roots of this misogyny. We explore how trolling disproportionately affects women—studies show fe...

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In Episode 2 of Who Killed the Female YouTube Star, we examine how YouTube’s evolving monetization model has deepened gender disparity on the platform. Beginning with Heather Armstrong, the pioneering “mommy blogger,” we trace how early female creators laid the groundwork for today’s influencer economy and revisit some of the top female YouTubers from the platform’s early days. Despite these foundations, women now earn less and are...

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Rewind to 2006: Susan Wojcicki champions Google’s acquisition of YouTube, setting the stage for the platform to become a global powerhouse. Host Shoshana Eilon explores YouTube’s mission to democratize content creation, liberating it from Hollywood’s gatekeepers. But nearly twenty years later, the vision of true equality remains unfulfilled—women make up only a small percentage of YouTube’s top earners and subscriber base. Featurin...

Mark as Played

Why are there only three women in the ranking of the top 50 YouTubers worldwide?


This four-part investigative series delves deep into the gender imbalance on YouTube, uncovering why men overwhelmingly dominate the platform as the top earners and most-subscribed channels.

Mark as Played

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