Idiom idiom
chilly climate
Meaning
A male-dominated environment where both overt and subtle forms of discrimination lead to the unequal treatment of women
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The office has a chilly climate for women.”
“She left the engineering firm because the chilly climate made it impossible for her to advance in her career.”
“Despite the company's public commitment to diversity, the persistent chilly climate continues to discourage women from seeking leadership roles within the organization.”
Origin
From chilly, in the sense of an unfriendly or distant manner, and climate, referring to the general context of a particular situation.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026