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Two by Two
Edition #67 • 5 Dec 2025 • 5 min read
Why 95% of our guests are men
by Uddantika Kashyap
Two By Two
Fri, 05 Dec 25
An abridged, narrative version of the latest episode of Two by Two, The Ken’s premium weekly business podcast.
An abridged, narrative version of the latest episode of Two by Two, The Ken’s premium weekly business podcast.
Two By Two
Fri, 05 Dec 25
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“I am the problem and Praveen is the problem.”
When a podcast episode begins with the hosts declaring themselves guilty, you know you’re in for something interesting. And just minutes later, Rohin admitted: “I didn’t think this would become a confessional so early on in the episode.”
But that’s exactly what happened this week on Two by Two.
After 68 episodes and 150+ guest appearances, the numbers were impossible to ignore: just 5% of our guests have been women. And it turns out we are not alone. A USC Annenberg study revealed that in the US, business and tech podcasts have the worst gender split across all genres, at 92.3% male participation.
Here’s the thing: I’m a woman and the producer of this “bro podcast”. And even though I’ve only been here a month, listening to this conversation hit different. It felt personal.
So Rohin and Praveen decided to stop guessing and start asking. They invited two accomplished women leaders—Kosturi Ghosh, partner at Trilegal, and Swapnika Nag, CEO of Periscope—to dissect exactly why this happens and what can be done about it.
We had also reached out to Smita Deorah, co-founder of LEAD, a familiar voice from Rohin’s First Principles podcast, hoping she could join the conversation. A scheduling clash meant she couldn’t make it, but she was kind enough to send her thoughts via email. And honestly? Her perspective added yet another layer to an already complex discussion.
Here’s what Smita wrote:
Women are often called for podcasts/events/interviews to talk about the same cliched topics of diversity, women empowerment. I don’t think the young audience are interested in these topics—men were never interested in listening to this, and young women want to build more relevant skills, than listen to this. As an example—70–80% of media engagement invites I get are about these topics. I would rather talk about education, business, tech, scaling, leadership. If podcasters, reporters, media companies get us to talk about relevant topics without focusing on our gender, I think we will see more balanced voices.
Women tend to shy away from putting themselves out there on social media. I know I have for many years. Female leaders will need to come out of their shell and be ok to talk more publicly. That is something we need to take responsibility for.
What followed wasn’t a neat discussion where everyone nodded in polite agreement. It was messy, honest, and far more interesting because of it.
Praveen didn’t hold back: “I don’t think we tried hard enough. I don’t think it’s something that we kept really high up on our list.”
But he also pointed to structural issues. When you’re scrambling to find guests a week before recording, you default to existing networks which are, in fact, male-dominated. And even when they reach out to women, the response is different.
Praveen Gopal Krishnan: I have found that women want to be much more informed about ‘What is this about?’ The minute you say it’s an unstructured conversation, it’s a discussion, then it becomes a conversation about ‘Okay, perhaps… I’m not sure… let me get back to you.’
[…]
Rohin Dharmakumar: I genuinely feel men are more comfortable with it. Firstly because I think men are more comfortable shooting off their mouth. Second, men aren’t held to a high standard when they shoot off their mouth.
This is where the episode took a turn. Kosturi and Swapnika didn’t just add perspectives; they fundamentally disagreed with each other.
Kosturi spoke about the trust deficit and imposter syndrome. She admitted that when Rohin called, she came up with “eight different reasons to say no” before agreeing.
Kosturi Ghosh: Do we think we’re good enough to show up here? I find that women, despite having reached the kind of heights that they have, are still so filled with self-doubt.
She argued that representation matters because if women don’t see themselves in these spaces, younger women won’t aspire to get there.
Then Swapnika flipped the script.
Swapnika Nag: I have a little bit of discomfort with the phrasing of this as a problem to begin with… For you as hosts, your responsibility is to tell a good story to the end listener. That is it.
She wasn’t buying it. As a founder, she hires the most competent person for the job and gender doesn’t factor in because she can’t afford that luxury. “Representation in podcasts is probably one of the last things I’m solving for.”
The tension between these two views was fascinating. I found myself somewhere in the middle. Kosturi’s point about creating space resonated, but so did Swapnika’s focus on “storytelling first”.
Rohin committed to making 2026 different by building a roster of women professionals in advance, reaching out through networks for warm introductions, and being more intentional about planning.
And I’m glad to put in the extra effort to bring in diverse voices. Not just for representation but also to enrich our storytelling.
But it leaves me with a bigger question for you: is the real problem the podcast format, or is it simply about who is allowed to show up unprepared and still be taken seriously?
You can listen to the full episode here.
So, which side are you on? Is this issue of “we’re not comfortable enough” really true? If yes, why do you think that is? And more importantly, how do we solve for it?
If you’re a woman leader or know one who’d be great for future episodes, please reach out to us at [email protected] or to me at [email protected]. I’d love to add you to our network so we can have these conversations together.
The effort begins here. I promise to do my part—will you do yours?
If you liked the episode or have thoughts or arguments to share, please email us at [email protected] or comment below. I’d love to hear from you.
Until next week,
Uddantika
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The bro-ification of business and tech podcasts
Uddantika Kashyap
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The bro-ification of business and tech podcasts
Uddantika Kashyap
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