"Baby if you were my wife I would treat you like a princess & wouldn't let you work". "But honey would like to take care of my JD and MBA debt too?" Silence.

"Treat you like a princess and wouldn't let you work": this is the typical nonsense "masculine" sentence. Men wouldn't let you work because they want you to stay home and do houseworks, this is what they mean by "princess", princess of the house. Men do not realise that housework is always work, of a different kind, more boring, less rewarding and without career progression. If your man accepted to pay for all your expenses, plus the house cleaner for the houseworks, laundry, cooking, plus un unlimited credit card to keep you entertained, then in that case you would be treated like a princess. But I do not think your man was meaning that at all.

That was a client that said that to me over a working lunch. I wasn't offended, just thought it was funny.

Barc, a client said that to me over a working lunch. I wasn't offended, just thought it was funny. I've had much worse said to me that I have dished back at😊

Citi, a client said that to you over a working lunch?? Well I would have found that quite inappropriate. He has basically told you that if you were his wife he would make you "dependent" on him. Being dependant on a man is one of the worst things that could happen to a woman. Financial independence for a woman is the difference between doing what YOU want and doing what HE wants, between speech and silence. I would have perceived that sentence as diminishing and disrespectful. Always ask yourself this question: would anyone ever say such a thing to a man? If the answer is no, 99% of the times you should be annoyed.

^ being annoyed is a choice and if you live life letting everything annoy you you'll be just like every other banker who's 3 years in with grey hair. That's the problem with many of you let these irrelevant things bother you.. Agree with OP have with it and dish something back and call it a day.

In this line of work, be prepared for asinine, immature comments from others (men and women). Sometimes it's imbecilic and other times it's a negotiating tactic to throw the other party off balance during a negotiation. Toughen your skin but be mindful of the fact that you are on the firm's clock and in a professional setting.So be careful about what you say. One non verbal counter strategy for consideration is to be silent, maintain a dominant open body posture, and stare back without a smile. The other party will soon enough lower their gaze first in recognition of their unprofessionalism. Alternatively, you can prevent eye contact and steer the conversation to a professional topic of your choosing. Either way your displeasure is made clear professionally, you maintain control and a firm-headed frame of mind.