ANNE, LONDON, INSURANCE

My manager arranged a leaving party for someone in our team, and invited everyone except me.  I’d been working with them as a temp for five months, and I was the only woman in a team of 8.  They all left for lunch together, all looking a bit uncomfortable apart from him, my manager. He also didn’t tell me that they weren’t coming back for the rest of the day.  I sat there by myself working away for the rest of the day. I was glad they were gone to be honest, because I was usually surrounded by their loud sexist jokes and misogynistic banter while trying to get my won work done.

I resigned soon after, because it was a very toxic and misogynistic place to be, and I was lucky enough to be offered a job elsewhere.

A month later, on my own last day, the same manager was suddenly acting like I was his favourite colleague. He suggested we have a leaving lunch with the team. Turns out it was for the sole reason of having an excuse to go to the pub for the afternoon and “legitimately” charge it back to the company through his expenses.

I said “not a chance”, left work at midday and treated myself to sushi and a glass of prosecco for one, and never went back to that office. #SquareMile #Insurance #violenceagainstwomenandgirlsstartswithwords