Each week, creator/host Spencer McNaughton digs into the people, money, and power behind the anti-LGBTQ ecosystem in America, and brings in Uncloseted reporters and outside voices to break down original investigations.
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With June being LGBTQ History Month, we thought we’d review two recent studies on the LGBTQ+ community as consumers, and the advertisers and brands that market to the community, as well as a study about societal attitudes that connect to consumer behavior.
First, let’s get a temperature reading about the LGBTQ+ community in our society. There is a a just-released Harris Poll that surveyed more than 3,000 employed U.S. adults, including 650 LGBTQ+ employees and 2,432 non-LGBTQ+ employees.
These findings come during Pride Month, when 62% say workplace communication about LGBTQ+ employees or issues has changed.
The Harris Pool
The study shows that 62% of LGBTQ+ employees have noticed changes in how their workplace communicates about LGBTQ+ employees or issues.
It also shows that 64% of LGBTQ+ employees have self-censored or changed their behavior at work because of the current social or political climate around LGBTQ+ issues.
The Gay Podcast for Everyone is a show hosted by Angela Briones that fosters inclusive conversations about the LGBTQ+ experience, featuring guests, coming out stories, and discussions designed for families and allies. It highlights personal journeys and promotes unconditional love.
Gay Podcast For Everyone
• 80% of LGBTQ+ employees say they are less likely to trust a company that becomes quieter about LGBTQ+ inclusion
• 68% say they would leave a company if they felt it no longer supported LGBTQ+ employees
• 62% of non-LGBTQ+ employees say how their workplace treats LGBTQ+ employees says something about how it treats employees overall
"For many, support for LGBTQ+ colleagues is a broader signal of how the company treats people overall," says Tim Osiecki, director of thought leadership and trends at The Harris Poll. "For employers, this is not just about Pride Month or internal communications. It is about trust, leadership credibility and whether employees believe the company's values hold up under pressure."
Let’s delve into the results on Coleman Insights and Women In Media Network LGBTQ+ Podcast Consumer Study, a first-of-its-kind research initiative designed to provide critical insights into consumer habits, creator challenges, and industry opportunities within the LGBTQ+ podcasting ecosystem.
The goal of this research is to empower content creators to develop more authentic and relevant programming while helping advertisers recognize the significant value and purchasing power of LGBTQ+ audiences.
Women In Media
The comprehensive study, led by Coleman Insights Vice President/Consultant Jay Nachlis and Women In Media Network founder Sarah Burke, aims to bridge the gap between creators, audiences, and brands while fostering better representation and economic opportunities for both LGBTQ+ creators and consumers.
“This research represents a crucial step forward in understanding and supporting the LGBTQ+ podcasting community,” says Jay Nachlis, Vice President/Consultant at Coleman Insights. “By examining the unique challenges and opportunities within this space, we’re working to create a more inclusive and economically viable environment for authentic storytelling.”
ForbesLGBTQ+ Pride Month At Work: 4 Topics Employees Actually Want To Discuss“The LGBTQ+ community represents tremendous untapped potential in the podcasting space,” notes Sarah Burke, founder of Women In Media Network. “This study will provide the data-driven insights that will shape meaningful connections between creators, their audiences, and brands.”
The study advisory committee currently includes podcast professionals from iHeartMedia’s Outspoken Podcast Network, Soundrise, Earbuds Collective, and Women In Media Network.
Harry Clark, CEO of Soundrise, says, “This community deserves more than seasonal campaigns. LGBTQ+ audiences represent real cultural and economic strength. This research will provide new insights to help brands move past transactional marketing to establish more authentic and lasting relationships.”
A key finding of the study was that nearly half of consumers studied listened to or watched a new episode on the same day it drops, and the majority return to the same shows weekly.
According to Erick Taylor Woodby, creator/host of Our Gay Black Diaspora, "There is a strong demand for authentic storytelling, with a high tolerance for sensitive or explicit subject matter if it is presented authentically."
Erick Taylor Woodby
According to Erick Taylor Woodby, creator/host of Our Gay Black Diaspora, “LGBTQ+ listeners often feel a deep personal connection to their favorite hosts and view them as highly authentic. Listeners are more likely to make purchases after hearing a podcast ad compared to the general public, and they are highly loyal to brands that align with their values.”
Here are some key findings and takeaways from the report:
Among LGBTQ+ podcast listeners, 67% say they made a purchase after hearing a podcast ad in the last three months, compared to 58% of podcast listeners overall.
The audience is also more engaged with the medium itself. Thirty-nine percent of LGBTQ+ adults listen to ad-supported podcasts every month, compared to 31% of Americans 18+.
The action doesn't stop at purchases. LGBTQ+ listeners are more likely to engage with advertiser calls-to-action, with 10% reporting they've written down a promo code from a podcast ad versus 7% of all podcast listeners. They're also more likely to discuss products they hear advertised on podcasts with others (8% versus 6%).
Perhaps most notably for marketers, LGBTQ+ podcast listeners over-index in several of the highest-value advertising categories. Compared to other podcast listeners, they show greater interest in:
Sounds Profitable Partner Tom Webster sums up the study this way: "The findings suggest podcast advertising may offer brands a particularly strong opportunity to connect with LGBTQ+ consumers, not just during Pride Month, but throughout the year."
Sounds Profitable
According to Tom Webster, partner at Sounds Profitable, “Podcasting works for the LGBTQ+ audience for the same reason it works for any audience that has historically been underserved by mainstream media—it offers a space where people can hear their lives reflected back to them authentically. That kind of trust doesn't just happen; it's earned over time by hosts who genuinely connect with their listeners. And our data shows that trust converts: LGBTQ+ podcast listeners are significantly more likely to act on advertising than the general podcast audience.”
In late May, Sirius XM released the findings from its 2026 Podsurvey User Study, which showed that LGBTQ+ podcast listeners are highly engaged, deeply loyal, and especially receptive to the trusted voices they hear in podcasts. For brands looking to build meaningful connections with LGBTQ+ audiences, podcasts are a powerful place to start.
A key study finding is that Pride Month gives brands a timely moment to celebrate LGBTQ+ audiences, but the opportunity to connect does not end in June. As LGBTQ+ listeners seek trusted voices, cultural connection, and content that provides depth and perspective, podcasts offer brands a valuable way to engage in spaces this audience actively returns to day after day.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The study detailed: “Pride Month is a celebration of identity, community, and visibility. It’s also a reminder that representation matters in the content people choose to consume and the voices they trust. For LGBTQ+ audiences, podcasts stand out as a favored medium, creating space for connection, inclusion, and discovery.”
The study was forceful in its conclusion that the biggest mistake brands make is treating Pride Month as a campaign rather than a relationship. LGBTQ+ listeners are sophisticated consumers.
According to the study, "They know when they're being marketed at for 30 days and then ignored for the other eleven months. That kind of behavior is what I call SAD: Seasonal Advertising Disorder. The brands that win are the ones that show up consistently—with relevant messages, in relevant shows, year-round. The data is clear that this audience is highly engaged with advertising across a number of high-value categories, from financial services to healthcare. There's no shortage of opportunity. The question is whether brands are willing to commit beyond June."
LGBTQ+ podcast listeners are flexible in how they consume content. On average, they use 2.7 devices to listen to audio podcasts and 2.3 device types to watch video podcasts.
SiriusXM
Other study findings include:
LGBTQ+ podcast listeners are intentional in their engagement, returning to the shows and voices they value again and again—while also discovering new content.
Nearly half (48%) of LGBTQ+ podcast listeners hear or watch a new podcast episode the same day it is released, and 91% of them consume more than half or all of an episode in a typical listening or viewing session. This type of eager engagement also shows up through their loyalty.
Nearly eight in 10 LGBTQ+ listeners consume multiple podcast shows in a given day or week.
Meanwhile, 77% listen to or watch the same shows each week, and two in three say they never miss an episode of their favorite podcasts. For brands, that sustained attention matters—it means they can show up in an environment that LGBTQ+ listeners actively choose, return to, and trust, creating more opportunities for advertising messages to resonate.
Pride Month is deeply connected to the stories people tell, the communities they build, and the visibility they continue to fight for. For LGBTQ+ listeners, podcasts reflect those same values—creating space for voices, conversations, and communities in one trusted medium.
Since 2016 the Making Gay History podcast has been mining Eric Marcus’s decades-old audio archive of rare interviews—conducted for his award-winning oral history of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement—to create intimate portraits of both known and long-forgotten champions, heroes, and witnesses to history. In addition, we’ve also produced documentary series that explore milestone events and developments in LGBTQ+ history sourcing content from other archives.
Making Gay History
And the data backs it up: Nearly nine in 10 (89%) LGBTQ+ listeners say podcasts are an influential part of today’s mainstream culture, and 84% of them say podcasts are shaping the way culture and current events are discussed today. Beyond shaping the conversation, LGBTQ+ listeners say podcasts also help creators grow their following and impact (84%) and give them a front-row seat to behind-the-scenes details and pop culture moments hosts experience (68%).
For brands, the takeaway is clear: Podcasts are not just reflecting culture, they are helping shape it. By showing up in these environments, advertisers can connect with LGBTQ+ audiences through trusted voices, relevant conversations, and the cultural moments they already care about.
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