I came up with a brilliant idea. Then I watched my male boss pass it off as his own

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When I was a young copywriter trying to make my way in the very blokey world of advertising, I was regularly the only woman in meetings. I found the experience daunting and worried that my contributions would not be up to scratch. I often berated myself once a meeting was over for either saying too much or too little.

One day, we were discussing an issue with a client that might cost the agency a lot of money. I had an idea. I debated whether I should speak up but finally screwed my courage to the sticking point and said my piece. Everyone looked at me as if I’d just crawled out from under a rock. I was silently beating myself up for being an idiot when my boss repeated what I’d said word for word, but without any acknowledgment.

Suddenly, every man in the room thought it was a brilliant idea. I just sat there, mouth hanging open, wondering if I was going mad. I remember feeling like a pane of glass, as if I didn’t really exist. I have since learnt that this is a common experience for women in male-dominated situations.

Not being able to accept that someone you consider an inferior (young, junior, female, different ethnic........

© The Sydney Morning Herald