From news headlines to viral online campaigns - the issue of the treatment of women in the workplace is one that's discussed around the world.
Here in Australia, the country's top businessmen are now starting to put words into action, taking practical steps to identify and eliminate everyday sexism at their place of work.
Chief executives from companies including NAB, the AFL, Medibank and Qantas - are among 100 businessmen that have formed a group - called The Male Champions of Change.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said businessmen had agreed that everyday sexism had cumulative and significant consequences on their staff's personal and professional lives.
"Typically, people don't raise it because it can be seen as too small to make a fuss about and few want to be seen to be 'rocking the boat'. But consistently in my work... we hear that these things do matter," Ms Jenkins said.
Ms Jenkins said it was not a matter of more victims complaining more often, but leaders taking a stance and changing entrenched workplace cultures.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins says everyday sexism takes a significant and cumulative toll on personal lives and career. Source: AAP
Recommendations include not supporting sexist 'humour' by laughing or staying silent, valuing women's voices in meetings and decisions and supporting the personal choices employees make about caring and careers.
'Wear your low-cut top'
The group consulted with 6000 employees with casual remarks and jokes cited as the most common form of everyday sexism.
Examples shared by survey respondents included being told: "Make sure you wear your low-cut top to meet with that client!” and “You won’t want to work on that machine…you might break a fingernail!”
Role stereotyping was also common with one woman recalling that "As the only female at the lunch meeting, I watched the men wait for me to take the plastic wrap off the sandwiches.”
“If I really want to get an idea up I brief my male colleague to propose it in the meeting. I don't like it but it's a means to an end,” another reported.
Former Property Council head Ming Long has had a successful career in the "blokey" real estate industry.
"People would use human genitalia in our everyday conversations and it was happening so often and I was actually getting quite offended and thinking how do I actually deal with this?"
She worked up the courage to call a male colleague out on it.
Now a convenor of Male Champions of Change, she welcomed the prospect of more male leaders speaking out against everyday sexism.
"The men out there have an ability to be champions of this and say no more, this is not acceptable, we're now going to be a different society."
Sharing the load
Global explosives manufacturer Incitec Pivot has taken practical steps to address inequality, such as dividing cleaning and housekeeping duties evenly between male and female employees.
The roles of meeting chair and minute-taker are also rotated.
CEO James Fazzino said the industry is traditionally male-dominated and he's seen the direct benefits of a changed approach.
"Men in our industry clearly don't experience everyday sexism in the way that many women do," Mr Fazzino said.
"We found that assumptions about the roles that were suitable for women and men in our organisation influenced everyday decisions about advancement and promotions and were reinforced by our talent management systems.
"By understanding and addressing the problem we have enabled more women to take up non-traditional leadership roles in areas such as chemical facilities management, engineering and distribution."
