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 underrepresented among top creators. Host Shoshana Eilon interviews industry experts Jessy Grossman and Taylor Lorenz to uncover structural biases in brand deals and VC investments—and how YouTube’s growing profitability shifted the balance against women creators.
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. Featuring candid interviews with creators like Whitney Cernak, Michelle Lam, and industry expert Jesse Grossman, we unravel the biases and structural barriers that have held women back, launching an in-depth investigation into the platform’s gender gap.
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.