Born out of Misogyny: why we are still waiting to be heard

When I founded Funny Women 24 years ago, it wasn’t just a passion project; it was a direct response to a misogynist comedy promoter I was working for as a publicist. When asked why he didn’t book any women I was told that ‘women aren’t funny’ and ‘there are no funny women’.

While the gender balance in the comedy industry has certainly improved since 2002, evidence that we gave to the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC), earlier this week at Westminster, highlighted that misogyny remains structurally embedded in the comedy industry.

I was part of two powerhouse all-female juries who presented first hand evidence about the existing prevalence of Misogyny in Comedy.  My fellow witnesses included tech ‘Wonder Woman’ Lu Jackson founder of Craic CRM, Craic Health and CRAFT, Jessica Toomey, co-chair of the Live Comedy Association, Kirsten Muat, North West organiser for Equity, Aimee Perry, head booker at the Frog and Bucket in Manchester; and Kelly Edwards-Good, senior marketing and press officer at Komedia Brighton.

A Legacy Born of Necessity

Running Funny Women is my ‘day job’ not a hobby as it often perceived. Only yesterday I was asked on social media ‘do you work in this field full-time, or is this something you do alongside other work?’

This lack of professional understanding and recognition mirrors the comedy industry’s broader failure to be acknowledged as a legitimate art form. Because the industry remains largely unregulated – a ‘Wild West’ without a unifying trade union – organisations like ours are often sidelined.

Our Funny Women Awards have become a vital industry benchmark for new female-identifying comedy talent, growing from 70 entries competing for one single award in 2003 to over 2,000 entries and nominations in 2025 across five categories. We have launched countless careers, yet we still struggle for funding and the ‘gatekeepers’ i.e. the management and production companies, often fail to support those of us working at the grassroots level that feeds their rosters.

The Structural Reality

I have recently taken on a role as Comedy Advisor to CRAFT, the Comedy Representation & Artform Trust, and statistics from our recent survey paint a sobering picture of the coalface where comedy begins:

• Safety: 52% of respondents reported experiencing sexual assault in their comedy work.
• Power Dynamics: 85.8% believe men have greater control over access to high-paid opportunities
• Culture: 67.2% say misogynistic behaviour is often treated as a “normal” part of comedy culture.
• The Impact: 75% of those impacted have avoided specific venues or people as a result, and 71.7% reported a hit to their confidence.

Misogyny isn’t just about bad jokes; it’s about money and access. Underinvestment increases vulnerability to harassment, and when 83.6% of performers are earning under £30,000 from comedy, the power imbalance becomes a matter of survival.

The Great Divide

One of our biggest frustrations is the divide between grassroots and greatness. We see ‘household names’, many of whom we supported early on in their careers. whose management companies block access to them as role models. We shouldn’t have to pay market rate fees to alumni for support that helps us call out misogyny at the level where it is most prevalent.

Furthermore, the glamorous image of TV comedy masks the daily challenges on the live circuit, where 46.5% of those who report misogyny see no action taken.

A Call for Change

We need more than just goodwill. We are calling for:

1. Funding for Grassroots Initiatives: Projects like The Glitter Project, which provides ‘A Safe Place’ for creativity, are currently unfunded. This project is the legacy of our dear friend Jo Fletcher Cross, who died recently, and it deserves to be a permanent fixture in our industry with the ability to expand.
2. Universal Guidelines: We need clear codes of conduct and consequences for sexist or abusive behaviour, supported by 73.5% of our CRAFT survey respondents.
3. Industry Education: Promoters need to be educated on what constitutes misogyny, ensuring better access and terms for female acts.

Comedy brings so much joy, yet those of us working within it are often met with disappointment and isolation. It is time for the industry to acknowledge the support given at grassroots by organisations like ours and work with us to dismantle the structural biases that still hold women back.

We will continue to fight for a comedy culture where everyone is safe, paid, and, above all, heard.

You can watch the full session that took place at Westminster Palace on Tuesday 28^th April on parliamentlive.tv here.

We will no doubt continue this conversation with our Glitter Project Industry Panel and Mentoring Meetup as part of the Brighton Fringe at Komedia on Sunday 10^th May.  Join us for a lively lunchtime industry panel and speed mentoring session from midday to 1.30pm. Book you place here!

STOP PRESS:

The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) today (Friday, 1st May) launched a new call for written evidence on the experiences of women in live comedy.

MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Owen, are giving female comedians an opportunity to share their experiences anonymously and confidentially. Please contribute here.