Gender Distribution and Female/Male Impression Ratio in YouTube Ad Videos

During a recent conversation, I became fascinated with researching the ratio of genders depicted in YouTube ads. I was specifically curious to know whether women are portrayed more frequently than men. See below for further details.

Gender Ratio of Views on YouTube Videos

Billions of people worldwide watch short videos, commercials, and movies every day. These media formats have the power to manipulate, deceive, and defraud consumers, as well as shape their future. News reporting is another aspect of this, which I won't delve into here. It's clear that the impact of media is immense, and we must use this power responsibly.

When we watch ads on YouTube, which gender appears most frequently and how are they depicted? For example, I am investigating whether messages that show a woman cleaning while a man comes home from work are socially manipulative, reinforcing the stereotype that women are solely responsible for housework and men are the breadwinners of the household.

Using data from 2.7 million YouTube ad videos uploaded between January 2015 and March 2019, we have generated the following numbers and reports to identify the most viewed videos and determine the male-to-female impression ratio. Our goal is to confidently determine whether women are more prominently featured in YouTube video ads, or men.

After careful analysis of this report, it is clear that we can boost video ad conversions by targeting specific genders in particular industries. For example, women demonstrate greater engagement with video ads in the cosmetics industry, while men show more interest in automotive ads. Nevertheless, these preferences may vary from country to country. In certain regions, videos featuring men promoting cosmetics may generate more conversions, whereas videos with women may prove less effective. These variations can be attributed to cultural and societal differences among countries.

Impressions and View Rates and Distribution by Gender in YouTube Advertising Videos

It is clear from the data that men in Turkey were prominently featured 1.5 times more often than women across all sectors. Even in advertisement videos in all categories, the male character was given 57% of screen time, while the female character only appeared for 43% of the total time.

Naturally, as we analyzed the data, we couldn't help but notice a significant factor: women now occupy more important roles and positions compared to the past decade, marking a 4% increase in this rate. This signifies a shift from the traditional view of women as mere housewives to women who are actively contributing to the workforce. This is a crucial metric as it promotes a more accurate and equitable representation of women and men in society, rather than perpetuating stereotypes that can be damaging. For instance, showcasing men doing household chores like washing dishes should be normalized. In fact, it's already a norm! Despite these positive changes, it's worth noting that there are still areas where gender inequality persists.

Categories with the most differences

In Turkey, Education & Government is the category with the highest number of male viewers, at a rate of 73%, while female viewership is at 27%. This category presents the largest gender disparity. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this fact, as I had previously assumed the automotive category would have a larger disparity. However, it is clear that education and government are the top categories, with men being the primary viewers and watchers.

According to our research, the Classifieds & Local category (also known as local advertisements) boasts the highest female involvement in Turkey. Specifically, women comprise 73% of those who view and post ads, while men make up the remaining 27%. These impressive statistics demonstrate the significant role that women play in this category, and it is important to take this into consideration when developing any marketing strategies or campaigns.

How is the situation globally?

According to Google's extensive research across 51 countries, the global rate of views and impressions for men stands at a confident 56%, while for women it is a respectable 44%.

In which countries were women watched and shown the most?

Among 51 countries, women are only screened and monitored more than men in the Philippines and Thailand, respectively. It is noteworthy that in these two countries, women receive more impressions and attention than men.

In Turkey, women's impressions in all categories exceed those in the United States and England by a remarkable 43%. Nonetheless, it's worth emphasizing that the portrayal of women and men in videos, as well as the representation of gender, is a more significant metric than the impression rate.

Talk Times in Videos by Gender

In Turkey, it is a fact that men have been given more attention than women, with a ratio of 57 to 43. Nevertheless, men still have more speaking time on screen than women, even though the gap has slightly widened.

It is worth noting that men spoke at a significantly higher rate of 61%, while women spoke at a rate of 39%. This suggests that men were more vocal and took on a more dominant role in the videos.

Distribution of Genders by Age and Screening and Watching Times

It is evident from our analysis that, in all categories in Turkey, men are the dominant demographic in terms of being shown and watched. Moreover, men are more active speakers in the videos compared to women. Our findings also reveal that the average age of men is 4 years older than that of women.

Over the past five years, there has been a substantial rise in the average age of men. Consequently, we made a conscious decision to feature male characters in our video advertisements who are more seasoned or mature. Multiple factors could be contributing to this shift, including cost, limited availability of models, or changes in consumer behavior.

Our analysis reveals that video ads uploaded to YouTube were more frequently viewed by men than women in 51 countries. Additionally, men were assigned more active roles or responsibilities in these ads.