New Initiative to Help Female Creatives Find Their Funny Bones

As women we really heavily on a GSOH to get us through the various milestones that life throws at us. From dealing with menstruation, menopause and misogyny, to the fact that the world is still largely a man’s one.

Our humour and creativity are huge weapons in our feminine armory. Forgive the masculine analogy but it is a battle to get our female voices heard, and we have to tackle like with like. The language and the rhetoric will change, eventually, but we are still fighting for our rights to be equal in the workplace, in public life and on stage.

"I’ve been influenced by some amazing women who have gained power and status through comedy."

Think Lucille Ball (below), Mary Tyler Moore, Tina Fey and Amy Schumer in the US; Joyce Grenfell, Victoria Wood, French & Saunders and Miranda Hart in the UK, to name a few.

I created Funny Women in 2002 as a platform for female performers away from the sexism that existed, and still does exist, on the comedy circuit. The company’s beating heart is our annual Funny Women Awards, which has expanded to include writers, film makers, producers and creators.    

Highlights from The Funny Women Awards 2017

We have been a major part of a movement for change within the comedy industry that has seen a whole new generation of women succeed and grow in status. Some of today’s most famous funny women – Katherine Ryan, Susan Calman, Zoe Lyons, Desiree Burch and more – have been a part of our Awards.

Susan Calman's memoire, Cheer Up Love

My career in comedy has reinforced my view that women generally have a far more circular, creative approach to problem-solving and management in the workplace. Men are more likely to set clear and focused goals (nothing wrong with that) and forget that a creative detour might make the result bigger, better and more memorable.

Process has always been the barometer of success, whereas creative thinking has been positioned as a risky strategy.

"During my years in marketing and public relations I saw creative work largely being undertaken by women while men took the lead and the credit at the top."

There hasn’t been as much change as I would have liked so HERlarious is aimed at creating new female leaders, with a strong distinctive voice.

Comedy or making people laugh uses our innate creativity and when we learn to use this in the moment, it is very powerful. 

"Women are far more risk averse when it comes to deploying humour and this puts them at a disadvantage in the leadership stakes."

Men are encouraged to make people laugh, particularly the opposite sex, to disarm a situation and make themselves memorable. 

In a lot of cultures women have to ‘put up and shut up’ as it’s not ladylike to exude power over the opposite sex. Yet, as we are becoming more familiar with seeing women on public platforms in politics, media, sport and entertainment, we can expect to laugh along with them too. 

So, I am on a mission to combat discrimination from everyday sexism, to ageism, disability and beyond to build an equal environment for women to work, love, play and create. Humour, fun and laughter is the key to creativity and it gives women their voice.