Working Women: Meet Jenny Collier, Comic

Today is the final day of Working Women month! Tonight we'll be heading to our Women in Business event, chaired by the wonderful Sonia Brown and featuring our founder Edwina Dunn, entrepreneur and presenter Alison Cork, Virgin's Sheen Amin and Investec's Linda Brown, and guest starring some very lovely canapés. If you didn't manage to get a place, never fear: you can catch up on the blog and we'll be live tweeting tonight using the hashtag #WorkingWomen. But before then, we've got a treat for you.

Remember a few months ago when  a venue cancelled the set of comic Jenny Collier… because they didn’t ‘want too many women on the bill’? We do. So we decided to talk to a female comic during Working Women month to find out a bit more about the job. Lo and behold, here’s Jenny herself: she talks mirrors, sexism and advice for aspiring comics.

Morning Jenny. How did you get into comedy?

I was really into acting when I was a bit younger and took part in quite a few am dram (amateur theatre) productions. A few people suggested I try stand-up as they thought I’d be good at it. It seemed like a good idea as I love watching comedy and always enjoyed taking the comedic roles in plays.

On the eve of International Women's Day, your set was cancelled by a venue who said there were too many women on the bill. Is this the first time you've experienced sexism in the comedy industry? How do you deal with this kind of prejudice?

This is the first time I’ve experienced such blatant sexism. Apart from outing it on Twitter, I’ve just carried on doing what I’m doing.

If you hadn't become a comic, what would you have been?

I qualified as a personal trainer a couple of years ago so probably that. But I’d have always tried to be on the stage too in some way!

What advice would you give an aspiring young female comic?

Just get out there and gig as much as possible. Concentrate on things you can affect like gaining experience and don’t let prejudiced people put you off.

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

The drummer from Hanson? OK, urm, a woman who could do with a long holiday abroad! And a decent mirror.

You can keep up-to-date with Jenny's comings-and-goings (and noble outings of blatant sexism) by following her on Twitter.