Yesterday I met a group of former colleagues for dinner. We all worked together at different times between 2013 and 2021. In 2021, our manufacturing plant was closed, and everyone moved on to different companies in the area.

Yet this group still meets two or three times a year.

In fact, several groups that formed during those years still gather regularly today. To me, that says a lot about the company culture we had at that plant. Even five years after the site closure, it is easy to see: Germany lost a great manufacturing site in 2021. But that is a different story.

What I want to reflect on here is the culture.

Was it perfect? Of course not. But it was open. Open to ideas, to change, and to people taking initiative.

How it all started

Sometime around 2012, I saw a Facebook post from a colleague. The picture showed four of my male colleagues out for drinks on a Thursday evening.

To be honest, I felt hurt that I had not been invited. I also felt a bit jealous. It looked like a male club forming right in front of my eyes — and I was not part of it.

I shared my frustration with a few female colleagues I regularly met on the bus to work. The four of us quickly came to a simple conclusion: we could do the same thing.

So we did. We met for drinks one Thursday evening.

It was a fun night, and somewhere during that evening a new idea emerged:
Why not meet once a week for lunch in the canteen? We could invite other colleagues if they wanted to join.

It was a simple, spontaneous idea. We had enjoyed spending time together and sharing our experiences at work, and it felt natural to continue the conversation.

The birth of “Ladies Lunch”

The following Wednesday, we met as planned. I believe we had already invited a few additional colleagues, although I do not remember exactly. At that time the group was still small, maybe six or seven women.

But the reaction around us was immediate.

There were curious looks, whispers, and discussions among some of our male colleagues. As the weekly lunches continued and more women joined, the comments grew louder.

What could we possibly be discussing every week?

The jokes quickly followed: apparently we must be exchanging knitting patterns or sharing cooking recipes.

It was 2012. At the time, sexism and discrimination were still more openly expressed and not always challenged.

Our little gathering was soon given a name: “Ladies Lunch.”

We could have been offended. In fact, I think I was at first. But instead, we decided to embrace the title with pride. From then on, our Ladies Lunch became a standing Wednesday invitation.

A growing table

Interestingly, we never explicitly excluded men. We simply did not send formal invitations, and the intention of creating a space for women was clearly there.

Occasionally, some male colleagues joined us. Ironically, they were sometimes teased by other men for doing so — perhaps out of curiosity or jealousy.

After a few months, the initial curiosity about our lunches faded. The weekly gatherings simply became part of everyday life at the company.

And they continued for years, until COVID-19 eventually stopped most forms of social interaction at work.

Even as some of the original members left the company, the Ladies Lunch table continued to grow. At some point we were probably fifteen to twenty women sitting together at lunchtime.

I even remember the lunches being mentioned occasionally in senior management meetings. Yet they always remained what they had been from the beginning: a grassroots initiative. It was never a formal company program.

In a way, it had been inspired by something that was never questioned either — the informal all-male after-work gatherings that had existed long before.

Looking back

Perhaps some of the jokes and comments were simply a way for people to cover their own discomfort. After all, a group of women from different departments and different age groups meeting every week could easily trigger curiosity.

And yes, of course we talked about work. We talked about projects, colleagues, challenges, and ideas.

Looking back, I believe this small initiative was only possible because the overall company culture allowed it.

People made jokes and comments, but management never tried to stop it. We were free to connect across departments. Over time, I even noticed that some senior female managers occasionally joined our table — not every week, but sometimes.

Eventually, what had started as a spontaneous idea became something the organization could even point to as an example of connection and diversity. This was long before diversity initiatives became as structured and formal as they are today.

What it taught me

Looking back now, the story of the Ladies Lunch taught me something important:

Small initiatives can grow into meaningful networks — but only if the environment allows them to.

Culture creates the space where people either feel safe to connect, or they don’t.

And sometimes, something as simple as a lunch table can make all the difference.

Written by me, edited by ChatGPT.

Photo credit: Yan Krukau used under Pexels License.