The scene has a left a sour taste in the mouths of many.

“A picture’s worth a thousand words,” tweeted one user, of the photo, which has also been rendered as Banksy-style graffiti on the site.

“Having a woman scrub off chalk that says ‘Happy International Woman’s Day’ while some blokes stand around in the background isn’t a good look,” replied another.

And whilst there was the usual flood of people (cough, men) asserting that Dr Smith’s tweet was a case of over-sensitivity, the image is a undeniable metaphor for several intersecting struggles, including that of the gender pay gap, the larger proportion of women in low-income jobs and the current pensions dispute that recently prompted a nationwide strike of university staff.

The picture of a woman working in a low income position, watched closely by men as she erases a message of female empowerment from the steps of a university that’s become symbolic of potent elitism and privilege, on a day dedicated to celebrating women, is a powerful one.

Oxford University has apologised for an awkward incident on International Women's Day