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How did Susan Wojcicki change YouTube?
One sunny day, in a Silicon Valley boardroom in 2006, Google’s marketing manager, Susan Wojcicki stood before the company's top executives and pitched a big idea. "Buy YouTube," she said. The price tag? A staggering $1.65 billion.
Wojcicki was Google's 16th employee and the company’s first marketing manager. In fact, she was behind the now famous Google Doodle, the variants on the Google logo that pop up to celebrate special occasions. At the time, she was in charge of Google Video, a video platform that had been developed and released before the launch of YouTube. The story goes that, as Google’s marketing manager, she uploaded the first video to Google Video, which she titled “A Purple Muppet Singing a Nonsense Song”. When the song finished, her kids shouted “Play it again” and a lightbulb went off for Wojcicki. Her kids' reactions made clear the power of user-generated content "for global distribution" and its ability to spark emotions that could lead to repeat visitors.
When Susan assessed YouTube, a competing video site that had launched in 2005, she realized it was superior to Google’s own video site. She believed that Google would be better off buying YouTube and capitalizing on the users that were already flocking to the nascent platform.
Susan only had an hour to put together the financial modeling to show that spending over one and a half billion dollars to buy YouTube would be worth it. Many at Google were skeptical about the proposition, but the company ultimately took the gamble. In the weeks that followed, media headlines made fun of the purchase, calling it “Google’s Billion Dollar Blunder”.
Fast forward a decade and a bit later. In 2023, YouTube generated $31.5 billion in revenue - almost 30 times Google's initial investment. And that number continues to grow. Susan's belief in the power of user-generated content would ultimately prevail, and eventually, become its own massive industry and change the way we consume media.
Susan Wojcicki becomes YouTube CEO
In 2014 Wojcicki became the CEO of YouTube, kick-starting a "golden age" for the website. The YouTube platform allowed anyone with willpower and a camera to upload their own videos. It was a time when independent creators began to captivate the world and redefine the media landscape. Formerly unknown talent could reach millions of viewers around the globe. People were becoming superstars overnight with a single video. There were viral hits like “Hot Felon” and the “Apparently Kid” .There was also Tatia Pilieva’s short film “First Kiss” where 20 strangers kissed for the first time. The short video was awkward and touching and gained tens of millions of views just days after it was posted. In 2014, thousands upon thousands of people started their own YouTube channels to share their art, their stories, their cooking, their DIY projects, and an abundance of other talents with the world.
While CEO, Susan held the unofficial title of the top female executive in the tech industry. None of the Big Five tech companies — Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft — have ever had a woman CEO, and Wojcicki’s position at YouTube brought her the closest before she stepped down as the head of YouTube in 2023.
Tragically, Susan passed away in August 2024 at the age of 56 after a courageous battle with cancer. Her profound contributions to both the platform and the industry have left an indelible mark, and she will be deeply missed by all those whose lives she touched.
One might expect that with a visionary leader like Susan helming a dynamic and democratized media platform, YouTube would serve as a prime stage for women to excel. And yes, women have found success on YouTube. But now, close to two decades after its founding, why are all of the top YouTubers male? Where are the women?
A Platform Meant for Everyone, Dominated by Men
"YouTube was supposed to be the ultimate democratic entertainment platform," explains Shoshana Eilon, COO of ThoughtLeaders and host of the podcast Who Killed the Female YouTube Star? "The whole beauty of YouTube is that it doesn’t have gatekeepers deciding whose content gets made." Yet, despite women making up a significant portion of creators, the most influential YouTubers—like MrBeast, PewDiePie, and Markiplier—are all male.
Eilon asked her team at ThoughtLeaders, a YouTube data platform, to analyze the 38 million active YouTube channels, in order to uncover the extent of YouTube's gender gap.
The team generated a list of the platform’s top 50 creators by subscriber count, filtering out musicians, brands, and corporate entities to focus solely on individual creators. The findings were stark: only 7 of the top 50 creators were women—and 4 of those were children. This leaves just three adult women among YouTube’s top creators.
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The biggest female YouTuber, Like Nastya, is a 10-year-old with 114 million subscribers, far behind MrBeast’s 250 million. Kimberly Loaiza, the second-largest female creator, has 45 million subscribers, a fraction of what the top male YouTubers boast. Across popular categories like Comedy, Gaming, Science, and Travel, no women appear in the top ten. Women secured a single spot in both the Sports and Auto categories, with their only significant representation being in the How To & Style niche.
In contrast, Instagram and TikTok show far greater gender parity, with women making up 54% and nearly 50% of the top 50 creators, respectively. This data makes one thing clear: YouTube’s biggest stars are overwhelmingly male, exposing a significant gender divide on the platform.
This imbalance is not just a matter of numbers—it reflects deeper issues within the platform.
YouTube: the Hardest Platform to Succeed On
"YouTube is the hardest platform to be on," says Jessy Grossman, founder of Women in Influencer Marketing. "It demands the most skill, with long-form video, constant content creation, and a hyper-critical audience." Grossman highlights the mental toll on creators: "It can feel like you’re only as good as your last piece of content."
This pressure, combined with the technical demands of long-form video, may explain why fewer women dominate the platform. Whitney Cernak, the creator behind the DIY and craft YouTube channel Whiskey & Whit, reflects on how perfectionism becomes a barrier. "I’ve had women tell me they’ve wanted to start channels for years but feel held back—‘I don’t know how to use a camera, I don’t think I’ll edit well,’" she shares.
Cernak adds that gender bias shapes how her audience perceives her expertise. “I keep my face out of thumbnails on certain videos because I get better engagement when viewers don’t know it’s a woman behind the camera,” she admits. “I’ve had people comment things like, ‘Your husband probably built that.’ It’s frustrating—like I need to constantly prove I know what I’m doing.”
YouTube and the Gender Credibility Gap
This bias, known as the “Gender Credibility Gap,” is well-documented in studies. Research shows that male experts are often seen as more trustworthy than female experts, even when both present identical information.
Michelle Lam, an animator and comic artist behind the channel Mewtripled, reflects on her struggle with this issue. "I feel like I need to list my credentials in every video just to remind people I’m not here by accident," she says. Lam also touches on the stereotypes women face on YouTube: "Women are often pigeonholed into lifestyle or beauty content, which isn’t respected the same way as other genres like gaming or tech."
Female Representation Matters on YouTube
Lam points out that representation is not just a personal victory—it resonates with her audience. "Young girls tell me they look up to me and want to do what I do. That’s why my presence as a female creator matters—it shows them what’s possible."
Eilon emphasizes this point: "If all the biggest YouTubers are men, what message does that send to young girls who dream of becoming creators?" This concern is backed by data from Pew Research, which found that 93% of American teens use YouTube, with many aspiring to become YouTubers themselves.
YouTube’s Massive Impact
“YouTube isn’t just a platform,” Eilon explains. “It’s the second most-visited site in the world, after Google. It influences culture, consumption, and even aspirations.” Surveys show that more children today dream of becoming YouTubers than astronauts, athletes, or musicians. With YouTube playing such a significant role in young people’s lives, representation at the top becomes crucial.
"Girls should see themselves reflected in the biggest channels," Eilon argues. "They shouldn’t have to accept a glass ceiling in what’s supposedly the most democratic platform."
Looking Forward
Eilon points out that the massive gender divide on YouTube is not a product of chance. It is the result of numerous factors, including systemic challenges, online misogyny, and even the platform’s underlying algorithms. All of this is explored in her four-part investigative podcast Who Killed the Female YouTube Star?
Wojcicki’s legacy lives on, not just in the numbers but in the opportunities YouTube still offers. However, if the platform is to fulfill its promise of democratization, the gender divide must be addressed. The next generation of creators and viewers alike deserve a YouTube where success knows no gender.
As Eilon reflects, "YouTube matters because it shapes the future—and that future should be for everyone."
You can find out more about the podcast here and can listen to it here.
