Industry figures give evidence to MPs

Women working in live comedy have told MPs they face entrenched sexism, opaque pay practices and widespread harassment, warning that the industry’s informal structure leaves many people vulnerable. 

Comedians Ola Labib and Nina Gilligan – who was also representing the Get Off Live Comedy HR organisation –  and journalist Rachael Healy will give evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament this afternoon.

Labib – giving evidence by video link  started by telling told MPs that while efforts are being made to improve gender balance on the circuit ‘there are still definitely imbalances there’.

And she described a pattern of tokenistic booking for people of colour, saying: ‘POC women are pocketed in groups… it’s usually like, "Oh, we’ve already got one Muslim woman. We don’t want any more on the lineup," with the assumption that we all have similar material. Women, especially POC women, are all lumped into one category, and you can only have one at a time.’

‘But there are no two Nigerian women that are the same… no two East African women that are the same.  Yet promoters often don’t really care, as long as you kind of fit that box they put you in.’

Gilligan said the myth that ‘women aren’t funny’ was persistent, too, saying: ‘There are perceptions of women in comedy… such as women aren’t as funny. There’s no statistics that have ever been found to prove that."

Instead, she pointed to research suggesting audiences actually prefer mixed bills.

In 2024, Chortle found that at Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club, just one in seven of the comedians on weekend bills were women. At the time, the venue said there were ‘insufficient women who were good enough… without compromising the overall quality of the show.

Labib was more blunt, saying: ‘There’s quite a lot of mediocre men that are getting slots," she said, describing a ‘laddish’ culture that dominates some venues.

She recalled performing regularly at one club without ever being promoted to headline status. ‘They would always only put me on the middle spot… even though I’m doing TV stuff now. Their thing is the audience… want to see a man perform.’

Witnesses stressed that discrimination is not only about attitudes but also about how the industry operates.

Gilligan described comedy as ‘a highly fragmented industry’ with little consistency. ‘You’ve got people with bricks and mortar clubs, and then you’ve got… someone setting up one night once a year in a pub,’

Much of the booking process is informal, she added. ‘If you have a heavily male-skewed environment, those men will inevitably become friends… and then they tend to start booking each other.’

This creates a self-reinforcing cycle that excludes newcomers, particularly women.

The working environment itself also poses challenges. ‘Late night, long distances… very early on in your career you’re expected to car share because you’re not paid,’ Gilligan said. Motherhood and caring responsibilities further complicate career progression in an industry with ‘no strong line of progression.’

Both comedians said women face harsher judgment on stage. ‘A guy bombs, he will eventually be asked to come back,’ Labib said. ‘If a woman bombs, I don’t think she’s coming back again.'

Gilligan agreed that women feel pressure to prove themselves immediately. "A woman has the pressure of being funny immediately," she said, whereas men are often given more time.

Such dynamics can discourage women from entering the industry but while better representation in TV and radio has improved  matters  ‘it might not necessarily be reflected on the live circuit’. 

On whether there was a gender pay gap in comedy, witnesses described a culture of secrecy that makes inequality difficult to prove.

Labib said: ‘You don’t know if there is or there isn’t oneuntil someone airs it out on social media.’

She recounted an incident in which a female headliner discovered a less experienced male act was being paid more. ‘She had to put that on social media before the promoter  apologised,’ Labib said.

‘Comedians don’t talk about how much they get paid. I think it’s to make it harder  to discover if there is a gender pay gap.’

Gilligan also suggested women aren’t represented as much in headline spots which pay the most – and allow comics to double up by opening at another gig earline in the same night. ‘Structurally, it means that… there is a gender pay gap,’ she concluded. 

Despite comedy’s reputation as an accessible art form, witnesses said financial realities create significant barriers.

 Journalist Rachel Healy, above, said: ’It should be one of the easier areas because you just need yourself and some time to write. But in reality there is still quite a big class divide.'

Many gigs, especially early in a comic’s career are unpaid or low-paid, making it difficult for those without financial support to progress – as are the crippling costs of performing at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Labib also spoke of regional disparity, saying there were too few gigs in Portsmouth, where she lives, and if she has to go  to London for gigs, travel costs swallow up most of her fee. Though she admitted she had not idea how that could be rectified .

Safety is also a concern. ‘If a comedy show finishes at 10.30pm, and I’ve got to travel two hours back. For women, from a safety perspective, I think it’s so difficult.’

She and Gilligan also spoke about how the circuit is unforgiving of mothers.

Labib said many women delay having children because ‘they think it’s going to affect their careers… The comedy world makes it seem like having a family  is going to set back your career.

‘It’s really upsetting to think that you want to have a kid, but you want to have a career, and you feel… you can’t have both."

Gilligan highlighted the opposite effect, saying: ‘I didn’t start till I was 40, [after her kids were older and childcare easier]. ‘What that means is you are starting later… and comedy sees youth as a currency.’

Healy noted persistent double standards. Mothers are often asked "where’s your baby?", she said, while male comedians face no such scrutiny.

The freelance status of comedians compounds the issue, with little money to cover a career break. ‘Statutory maternity pay  is quite depressing and scary,’ Labib said.

The trio also told how harassment was widespread across the industry.

Gilligan said a survey found around one in six comics had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment. While comparable to other sectors, she said the key difference is ‘we’ve got nowhere to go when something goes wrong.’

Healy said that despite movements such as MeToo, the problem is ongoing: ‘People have come to me with very recent incidents of serious sexual assault… unsolicited sexual pictures – all kinds of horrible things.’

The informal nature of the industry leaves many without protection. with victims reluctant to report incidents for fear of damaging their careers, MPs were told. ‘Being seen as humourless is obviously not a good thing if you’re looking to get booked,’ Healy said.

Gilligan added: ‘You maybe don’t want to go directly to the person that employed you  because you’re worried about the consequences.'

Perpetrators can include fellow comedians, promoters and audience members, while some women reported they suffered consequences after rejecting advances. ‘They would drop from a lineup or [promoters woild] stop booking them,’ Healy said.

Labib said: ‘The only way that some people find that action is taken is if you put it on social media.’ 

In the absence of formal systems, ‘whisper networks’ have emerged to share information informally.

Gilligan explained: ’It’s that idea that we can keep each other safe by sharing information’ – with Healy described a ‘culture of open secrets’. where allegations circulate privately but rarely lead to formal consequences.

"There’s no HR department," Gilligan said. Her organisation, Get Off, attempts to fill the gap but is limited by resources and confidentiality constraints. 

Legal threats are also deployed by perpetrators issuing cease-and-desist letters.

The representative of live comedy suggested a range of potential solutions, including greater professionalisation, clearer codes of conduct and fee transparency.

‘I think the good practice is to have fee transparency,’ Gilligan said. ‘When you’re advertising for a job… you tell everybody what the pay is going to be.’

There were also calls for stronger national bodies, better enforcement of employment rights and recognition of comedy as a sector eligible for public funding.

‘Having those opportunities like Arts Council funding would really help,’ Gilligan said.

But all three witnesses emphasised that safety must be the priority.

• Comedy industry body Craft is running a survey to help the government compile an up-to-date picture of misogny in the sector. They are seeking responses from all genders working in the industry at any level – complete the form here. Results will be published at the end of the month. 

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Published: 15 Apr 2026