Female DJs for Female Listeners?

I was asked a question about research that might show males prefer male announcers and females prefer female announcers.

The simple answer is:

I’ve never seen any research that supports an automatic problem based on the DJ’s voice. There is no problem with males hearing a female voice and dismissing her out of hand.

More to the story:

But once we get past the voice, we have to think about what they actually say. After all, in personality radio (remember that?) one of the roles of the DJ is to "relate" to the audience. They are not like the cable delivering your Internet signal or cable channel. They are content.

If we think about the content:

It does make sense that if the woman tries to be “Oprah” and doesn’t know how or chooses not to relate to things men care about, she isn’t going to get male listeners.

We relate to people who can relate to us.

But I’m confident that any skilled female air talent can be just fine with males, and vice versa. Certainly, when I programmed MTV, I found no problem with VJ Martha Quinn. She appealed to men, as did Nina Blackwood. 

If we don't think about the content:

On today’s content-free radio stations, there isn’t a whole lot of “relating” going on, except for the morning show. And indeed, many people believe in bringing in a woman’s perspective to balance things out and take advantage of the entertainment value of how men and women look at things differently,

Safest thing is to stick with universal topics, today’s hottest news and events, all the things the station is involved with, and the listeners’ favorite artists and music. Then, polarization won’t be an issue.

That will be safe. Easier. Not as much skill required.

Also boring. Not much more compelling than an iPod. Not very human. Not recommended.