Released On 16 March 2026

Linda’s blog - Speak Up, Call It Out

It’s so common that I’m the only woman in a meeting that I rarely notice but from time to time it hits me in the face and I wonder how this can still be possible in 2026. I work in financial services so maybe I’m a fool for being surprised but as a lawyer who trained in a 50:50 intake over 20 years ago, it shocks me that other industries are still far worse at recruiting women, let alone promoting them to senior positions.

A few weeks ago I sat in a meeting with no less than 14 men, all identically dressed in navy suits and white shirts, all white and middle aged save one Asian male grad. On that occasion I was one of two women and the other, who had flown in from her native East Asia, was leading on the other side.

Part way through the meeting one of my team’s external male advisers referred to “opening the kimono” before “consummating the deal”. I’d like to say that the room was rocked by this faux pas and a hasty apology promptly followed. But no, the shock waves of these inappropriate comments appeared to leapfrog every man before they hit me.

I knew instantaneously that none of the men would say anything. I had a split second to decide if I would. I did not. It wasn’t my meeting, I wasn’t the most senior person from my company and I didn’t want to embarrass the woman. The meeting continued. I vaguely listened and mainly raged both against the ignorance of everyday sexism and racism and the fact part of the reason I’d let it go was because I didn’t want to embarrass myself by making a scene.

That evening I reflected on the comments, my reaction and my failure to respond. The irony that we were so close to International Women’s Day was not lost on me. I felt guilty for not speaking up in the moment and I wanted to make amends. The question was how to do it. I wanted to ensure my feedback was impactful. I wasn’t convinced that if I spoke to the man direct he wouldn’t brush it off and even if it did land, I suspected it would go no further. I felt strongly this was a culture issue and should be a learning opportunity for many rather than few.

I decided to call the man’s most senior colleague who had been in the meeting. The colleague apologised (shame he hadn’t done that at the time) and in what I can only assume was an effort to prove he was not cut from the same cloth, moved on to lament the choice of male project names and declared he was doing his best to recommend female Gods. He told me not to worry and said he’d have a quiet word.

I paused, took a breath and told him that wasn’t enough. I asked him instead to raise language choice more widely, as a minimum with the team and preferably the whole department or company. I made it clear I didn’t expect him to name his peer or make it personal but highlighted that a junior man had been in the room. We all note what we see, consciously and subconsciously. Everyone needs to know that this language is not appropriate on any level. It’s not inconsequential words, it’s not light hearted and it matters even where no offence is caused.

The lack of awareness that certain words and phrases are offensive shows why we all need to be more conscious of the language we use and the environments we create. Calling out these moments shouldn’t fall solely to women or the minority group affected. We all have a duty to actively challenge comments, redirect conversation, and choose better words and phrases. By doing this together we can all make a meaningful difference.

Linda is a lawyer with two children. She and her husband both work full time and juggle the school run and everything else between them.