Getty ImagesAs if we needed another reminder of the vast pay gap between men and women, Forbes just released their list of Highest-Paid Comedians and not one woman is featured on it.
Yes, despite it being the "Year of Amy Schumer" in which she dominated almost every avenue of comedy, the top 10 list for 2015 is entirely composed of men.
Jerry Seinfeld, who racked up $36 million, topped the list with Kevin Hart coming in second at $28.8 million. Meanwhile, a lucrative Vegas residency put Terry Fator in third at $21.5 million.
Jeff Dunham and Russell Peters tied for fourth at $19 million, and Aziz Ansari bumped Louis CK from the 6th spot by a mere $500K. The list continues with Gabriel Iglesias, John Bishop and Dave Chappelle.
Not one Amy Schumer or Kathy Griffin or Whoopi Goldberg…anywhere.
Forbes notes the lack of a female presence, saying. "The list, which mainly consists of veteran funnymen, is missing one important component of the comedy industry: women."
The article continues, "The male-dominated field suffers from a lack of comediennes and, as with the rest of the entertainment industry, a pay gap persists."
For comics to make the cut, their primary source of income had to come from concert ticket sales, which could partly explain the absence of female comedians like Schumer and others who've made their mark on audiences through film and TV rather than through stand-up. However, Schumer will also be the first to admit she barely made any money from her 2015 film Trainwreck.
The true reality is the gender wage gap exists everywhere, in every area and through every platform.
This truth has been a large point of discussion in Hollywood lately, with celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence—who happens to be one of Schumer's BFFs—Patricia Arquette, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and more using their famous platforms as a voice for change.
Lawrence's Op-Ed piece for Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter has been the most recent spark of debate on the topic, generating a ton of buzz and discussion from both her male and female peers in Hollywood.
"When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn't get mad at Sony," the 25-year-old actress wrote, referencing her American Hustle deal. "I got mad at myself."
Admitting to accepting her deal without much of a fight, Lawrence says she "failed as a negotiator" because she "gave up early." She also admits that her desire to be liked inhibited her ability to ask for money for fear that people wouldn't find her as endearing anymore.
"But if I'm honest with myself, I would be lying if I didn't say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight," she writes in her essay. "I didn't want to seem 'difficult' or 'spoiled.'"
Thus, the real point of change will occur in Hollywood when actresses work up the courage enough to make those types of arguments and start saying no to projects that don't give them the equal pay they want. Just as important, it will also take the help of their male counterparts to be willing to fight, too.
It's imperative to keep the discussion of the gender wage gap relevant and trending, but nothing will change unless actual moves are made.