And Williams has an issue that she always brings up with the male partners of her pregnant friends at these barbecues. She looks them in the eye, and asks/demands that they take paternity leave.

“I’ll say, ‘You must take time off. For feminism, it’s very important that you take time off,’” Williams explains.

“Because male actors are never asked, ‘How do you do it all? When are you going to have a baby? Are you ready?’ People don’t assume it’s part of their decision matrix.”

If Williams’ approach seems confrontational, it’s also on-point.

The gender pay gap continues to be a major problem in the UK, and latest data shows that it’s actually growing in men’s favour at 45% of British firms. In the finance and insurance sector, the difference between men and women’s pay stands at a gaping 22.9%.

Data shows this gulf largely opens up around the point at which women start having children. Despite efforts to even the playing field, mums still routinely get hit by the “baby tax” when they take up maternity leave.

Not only are they overwhelmingly more likely to take the leave compared to dads, doing so means they may be unfairly dismissed or overlooked for senior positions. They may also be forced to accept a pay cut or resign because of a lack of flexible working options.

All of which means Williams is absolutely right to challenge the expectant dads that she knows, in an effort to normalise shared parental leave. What’s more, we should all be doing the same.

Images: Getty

Allison Williams on the question we should all ask expectant dads