Is comedy still a boys' club?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is comedy still a boys' club?". Your opponent's style: Amy Schumer

I believe comedy has become much more inclusive, with female comedians like Ali Wong, Taylor Tomlinson, and Nikki Glaser selling out arenas. The data shows significant growth in female representation.

Look, I love that you're optimistic about this, but let's be real here. Yeah, Ali, Nikki, and Taylor are killing it - I mean, Nikki Glaser's roast of Tom Brady was so memorable that she garnered enough attention to host the 2025 Golden Globes and that's huge! But we can't ignore the actual numbers. In 2016, one female entered the list of top-paid comedians - that was me at number two. ONE woman! And women constitute less than a third of professional comedians in the industry. We're still fighting for scraps at most comedy clubs where male comedians overwhelmingly dominate the line-ups. Sure, Netflix is giving us more specials now, but stand-up comedy is often seen as a boys' club, and no wonder: Women are underrepresented in all aspects of stand-up comedy. A few breakout stars doesn't change decades of systemic exclusion. We're making progress, but calling it "inclusive" is like saying we fixed racism because we have Black celebrities. Come on!