The phrase "Women in comedy" refers both to women who participate in the creation of comedic works as well as the social experience of women within the industry. Comedy, or creative works with the intention of humor, is thought to have originated in ancient Greek theatre in 425 BCE. While primarily dominated by men throughout history, the field of comedy has represented women since at least the mid-1700s. Some of these first figures to enter the field, however, were faced with resistance and discrimination. A sense of humor in women was previously thought to have meant the ability to laugh at a man's joke, rather than to tell the joke herself. When women did finally enter comedy (in its various forms), it was seen as niche, thus making bookings hard to come by.
Early acts were often based on the standard roles of women as housewives and mothers. Comedy was tailored to what men would find to be both funny and non-threatening. As women gained slow acceptance of their presence in comedy, they were able to expand the topics that they covered. Since then, women have made significant gains in the field, having found fame through stand-up, television, movies, and writing. Women such as Phyllis Diller, Wanda Sykes, Gina Barreca and many others have contributed to the world of comedy, spanning both time and medium. Despite this discrimination, many women comedians managed to thrive in the field. One such comedian was Lucille Ball. In TIME magazine's 1952 cover story on Ball, she was highly regarded. Despite the highly gendered industry that Ball had to break into and the stereotypically acceptable roles which she portrayed, coverage of her show I Love Lucy indicates media coverage that was less preoccupied with her gender than what today's women comedians face. Another groundbreaking woman comedian who faced discrimination was Phyllis Diller, famous for disguising herself as a man named Phillip Downey and breaking into the Friars Club in October 1983. The Friars Club was a private comedy club in New York City which did not at the time admit women as members nor as audience members. In comedy of the 20th century, the women that were able to become successful comedians often were isolated.
As comedic license has grown, comedy has become a tool within the scope of feminism. By reclaiming a previously male-exclusive art form, feminist comedians are able to use the traditionally-male art of comedy to critique what they view as patriarchal structures. Today, feminist comedy draws attention to female issues such as menstruation, rape, gender inequality, beauty norms, and machismo. As a readily acceptable and understandable medium of communication, comedy lends itself to the feminist movement, allowing women's issues to be more widespread in general society.
Comedic forms
Stand-up Stand-up comedy is a form of comedy in which performers act in front of a live audience, creating an interactive dependency. Jokes range from short one-liners to longer monologues. Despite their lower numbers, women have not been absent in stand-up comedy. Some notable women in stand-up include Sophie Tucker and Belle Barth, both Jewish singers and comics from the 20th century known for their bawdy and suggestive subject matter that is echoed in today's stand-up sets.
Sketch Comedy Sketch Comedy is a form of comedy consisting of short scenes or vignettes performed by a group of comedians. Some popular examples include television shows like Saturday Night Live, the most Emmy winning show of all time, and internet-based comedy companies like College Humor and Smosh. Many of the casts of such shows feature a number of women comedians. For example, three of the seven original 1975 cast members of Saturday Night Live were women. However, as of April 2026, the current cast of 18 only contains five are women.
Another example of sketch comedy prominently featuring women comedians is The Carol Burnett Show, a variety show hosted by Carol Burnett which ran from 1967 to 1978 on CBS featuring songs and skits by Burnett as well as her comedy troupe and their guests. Aside from The Ernie Flatt Dancers, only two cast members are credited as being in all 279 episodes. Both are women comedians: Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence.
Late night television
American late night television (The Tonight Show, The Daily Show etc...) has been dominated by white men for almost its entire existence. The platform allows a variety of comedic (monologues and shorts) and political (interviews and exposés) opportunities.
Despite this, many women have been able to break through the male-dominated standard. Some shows hosted by women include Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Amanpour & Company with Christiane Amanpour, and The Wanda Sykes Show with Wanda Sykes. Faye Emerson hosted The Faye Emerson Show on late night CBS in 1949. (For more examples, see List of American late night show hosts.)
Film Film in general, as well as comedic film, continues to show the gender imbalance of other forms of comedy. In 2014, a study found that there were 2.24 male characters for every female character. Of the movies surveyed, 30.9% of the speaking characters were female. Additionally, one of the major storylines in the film industry, the romantic comedy, consistently follows traditional female roles, women to searching for a male partner.
Despite this, film all the way back to the silent film era has featured prominent women comedians. Some significant examples of women in film from the Silent Film era include Gale Henry, Louise Fazenda, Colleen Moore, and Constance Talmadge. Representation of women comedians in film continued into the early sound era with female comedy teams like Anita Garvin and Marian Byron, famous for comedy short A Pair of Tights, which gave rise to a trend of female comedy duos. Another notable woman of the silent and early sound eras was actress, editor, writer, and comedian Marie Dressler. In 1914, she played Tillie in Tillie's Punctured Romance, the first full-length screen comedy.
Social media Most women comedians in the US extensively use social media to produce comedy content, engage with fans, and influence their press coverage. Comedians include YouTubers and Influencers, such as Colleen Ballinger, also known as the fictional character, Miranda Sings. Ballinger was the most followed female comedic YouTuber in 2022, with 21.5m TikTok followers compared to 23.2m subscribers on YouTube. A study in 2023 found that 92% use Instagram, 89% use Twitter, only 48% run a YouTube account, and 58% of women comedians host at least one podcast. While only 46% of women comedians make content for TikTok, the platform provided half the total digital media following for some of the most popular women comedians.
Gender imbalance The gender imbalance between men and women can be found all over, even on Wikipedia. The page: list of comedians shows a much higher number of males than females.
In pay In the United States, there is a large gender gap between men and women in comedy with regards to both pay and number. In 2014, all ten of the top ten paid comedians were male, bringing in a total of $173 million. In 2016, one female entered the list: Amy Schumer, at number two.
In appearances A study in 2017 found a large gender imbalance in UK comedic panel shows, with 31% of the appearances. However, the same study also found marked improvement since 1989, when the statistic was 3%. Additionally, the UK industry website Chortle lists 269 female comedian as compared to 1,279 male comedians.
Imbalance can also be seen at the level of the comedy club. For example, the prestigious New York comedy club Carolines featured 20% female performers to 80% male in 2014. Within the writers room, gender imbalance persists. Women made up 10 percent of writers working on the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2010 and 15 percent of writers and 18 percent of creators in prime-time television during the 2010–2011 season.
In South Korea, of 70 comedic variety shows, 13 had all male hosts and guests, and 23 with all male hosts, meaning that more than half of these shows lack female hosts. Only two shows had all females hosts and guests. Shows without hosts often try to model marriages by pairing up male and female celebrities. While this does achieve some sense of gender balance, it uses very traditional roles.
Gendering of humor The early female figures in stand-up, such as Phyllis Diller, were able to enter the mainstream through their willingness to self-deprecate and declare themselves ugly. Other early female comedians, such as Mae West and Helen Kane, used sex appeal to attract male audiences. In other words, they were able to enter, but not on the terms of male comedians. More modern female comedians cite a need to tailor their comedy to what men would find to be funny, with change in this mentality only coming very recently.
In stand-up Stand-up comedy, in particular, is described as a masculine art form. The comedic form requires a takeover of the stage in order for the comedian's material to "kill." The words that are used to describe success are often violent, such as killed or annihilated. (For more examples of how stand-up jargon can reference violence, see the "Terms" section of Stand-up Comedy.) For women, direct contact with the audience puts their womanhood on display. Many female comedians choose to wear loose-fitting clothing to take their femininity out of the spotlight. Some theorists suggest that the performer must take charge of the stage, claiming it as their own via the phallic symbol of the microphone. Stand-up forms of comedy are often credited as more aggressive than other comedy forms with jokes often centered on an attack on another party. The aggression that such an art form necessitates is encouraged in males but discouraged in females. One significant female stand-up comedian Belle Barth was arrested and fined on lewdness charges in 1953 and was eventually banned from radio and television.
As well, an experimental study published through Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity & The Arts scientifically investigated the effect of sexist stand-up comedy clips on women's mental health and cognitive performance. The study compared the scores on cognitive tasks of women who had been shown clips from sexist stand-up comedy to those that had been shown non-sexist comedy. According to the study, women who watched sexist stand-up comedy showed a significant negative overall impact on the cognitive wellbeing.
Discrimination against women In many societies around the world, a woman's role has affected her flexibility in comedy. In countries that historically view women as inferior to men, comedy is seen as a masculine discipline. The common perception that women aren't funny pervades all aspects of comedy, including stand-up, television, and movies. The comedy establishment, influenced by patriarchal society, has relegated women to the "side of tears and loss." Systematic sexism can be found at the level of audience members, bookers, agents, and male comics. As a powerful social tool, comedy brings women outside of the traditional role that has been defined as theirs.
Women have experienced everything from heckling audience members calling them gendered terms like bitches or sluts, to being invited to fake comedic festivals (so the organizer could have sex with the female comedian), to being introduced in roasts as the girl that "slept with one of the judges."
Feminist tool