PR Newswire

Heading into the top grilling holidays of the year – Memorial Day (62 percent of grill owners will be firing up the grill); Father's Day (45 percent); Fourth of July (84 percent) and Labor Day (71 percent) – the 25^th annual Weber GrillWatch Survey shows that more women than ever before (25 percent) are taking control of the tongs when it comes to grilling outdoors. This number is up from 20 percent last year, and 15 percent in 2009; it’s the highest percentage since Weber started fielding the survey a quarter century ago.

“Grilling goes hand-in-hand with the culture of enjoying the great outdoors and, most importantly, having fun,” says Kim Lefko, EVP of Marketing, Americas. “Our research shows that people prefer grilling outside to cooking indoors, so it's great to see that women are picking up the tongs and taking control of the grill.”

Gender at the Grill 

Confidence: Thirty-one percent of women have more confidence in cooking indoors, compared to 14 percent of men, while 30 percent of male grill owners are more confident in grilling outside, compared to 15 percent of women. 

Confidence Part 2: One-third of male grill owners (34 percent) believe they are a better griller than most people, whereas only 17 percent of women agree with that statement.

Boys Like Their Toys: Like collecting cars, men tend to acquire multiple grills more so than women. Thirty-five percent of men are more apt to have two or more grills than women (25 percent).

Dress for Success: Male grillers are more likely than women to own a number of accessories, including grill covers (53 percent vs. 47 percent), smoker chips (18 percent vs. 13 percent), and rotisseries (17 percent vs. 12 percent). Women rule with tongs (79 percent vs. 69 percent), spatulas (62 percent vs. 46 percent) and vegetable baskets (21 percent vs. 16 percent).

Gather 'Round the Grill: Men (33 percent) more so than women (26 percent) agree that it is “extremely important” to have the grill when entertaining family and friends.

Thanks Dad!: When it comes to learning how to grill, 59 percent of U.S. grillers teach themselves, but one-third also learn from their fathers (34 percent) and 15 percent from a spouse. Inside cooking is typically taught by mothers (56 percent) or self-taught (45 percent).

Weber commissioned KeyStat Marketing to field the 25th annual Weber GrillWatch Survey. Toluna provided the sample of 1,000 grill owners throughout the United States who completed the online survey. All respondents were 21 years of age or older and currently own a charcoal, gas or electric outdoor grill or smoker. The sample was divided between 50 percent males and 50 percent females and was balanced demographically to represent households across the U.S.