Yesyesyes sorry, it was a stupid knee jerk comment because I'm fed up with these stories so I was clearly not listening properly and just wanted to hear something negative. Managed to not think about breastfeeding etc.

I do think maternity AND paternity leave along Scandinavian lines (with several weeks non-transferable from the father) is the way forward, and of course both parents should be closely involved if the father is around.

Yeah, that sucks, and I did think from your original post that you were just not in a position to say anything - obviously it's different when it's literally all the bosses doing this. Such a frustrating culture to be a part of. It sounds like you're already doing as much as is in your power, just by not participating…

Oh I know, mainly I'm just annoyed at the monarchy in general :)

I love how people on Jezebel know everything. You can ask them what to use on acne, you can ask them what the definition of a particular law is, and you can show them a picture of a snail and they will identify it. Go you.

You forgot to mention the next bit:

What you can do is speak up when you see this casual sexism happening in your office. Acting when on top of the ladder is nice. But every step on the ladder you have a tiny bit more power, and with that power comes the responsibility of calling out a wrong when you can see it. I'm not saying you should get yourself…

I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences. Keep standing up for yourself.

It's a fundamental fact of life that women's wombs carry babies. Women need some time to go to the hospital, deliver that baby, nurse it, etc. If you accept that you want your country/society to continue, you will have to accept that babies will pop out of women. And not giving them paid maternity leave actively…

This. :(

I believe the number of male and female students across the university is roughly equal. Discrepancies in college male-female numbers are usually down to a college being next to the faculty of a male-dominated subject like engineering, or being a former all-female college or similar.

I was under the impression that women get a slightly lower percent of 1sts in general - not necessarily in the sciences, as this article suggests, but in humanities where having the balls (sorry) to argue out an argument whether you know all the facts behind it or not WILL get you marks? Tutors try to balance that out…

Bad news - OxBridge doesn't do continuous assessment, only exams.

Not so sure about eco-conscious... reusable packaging yes, but express deliveries to the US all the way from England? That's a lot of airmiles. And fast fashion isn't eco-conscious full stop. Yeah, I just block that part out when I see the pretty pretty things.

And Asos often have 'curve exclusive' or 'petite exclusive' pieces. Like, someone actually thought "this piece will work best in a specific size, and it's not regular". I like that about them.

And ALL Christian women who take their religion seriously would obviously divorce a husband they might still love and have sworn before God to honor till death do us part, at the first sign of trouble? Sigh.

Erm, her parents aren't originally from Saudi Arabia. Her mother is a university professor. She went to college in the US (and that counts as someone's 'formative years' in my book). She works in US politics. So it's equally silly to assume that her values must somehow be a walking Saudi stereotype.

I wanted to watch one episode, and ended up doing a Netflix marathon...

Tuition fee increases were for undergrad only. (As far as undergrad is concerned, there were two recent increases: from about 1,200, which counts as low in world average, to about 3,000 in 2007-ish, and then the most recent to 9,000). But as I said Belle was a PhD student, different fee and funding structure.

Just fyi, UK grad programs are different. No classes, no mandatory TA load. Depending on what sort of stipend you're on and where you live, you might find yourself short of money. More structured in science than humanities, and more funding in science, but then I don't think Belle said she needed prostitution to pay…