And that’s exactly why I wanted to clarify. Not so that I can attack but to understand your point of view.

If I remember correctly, this conversation all began because we disagree as to whether there is a gender pay gap.

I think there is but am also aware that this belief is shaped by the information I (choose to) receive - some of which I’ve cited and you’ve refuted.

Given my world view, it is hard for me to see how anybody wouldn’t accept that there is a gap so I would appreciate you explaining how you came to that conclusion.

My view is that the data used to substantiate a gender pay gap is overly simplified. In essence, gender and pay. It fails to factor in such variables as age, experience, qualification, track record, aptitude etc. In some cases cited elsewhere on this board, there is also mention of marketability (celebrities, sports stars, media personalities). In essence, it's very difficult to find two people who match exactly but have different genders.

It's easy to say that a woman doing X job earns less than a man doing X job. That fails to take into account any of the variables above. It also fails to take into account that - perish the thought - one person might be better than the other, regardless of gender. What happens if two women do the same job and are paid differently? Would a man be able to demand the same pay as a woman if he really wasn't very good at a job, and the woman was excellent?

And here's another element to look at: people rush to highlight cases where men are believed to be earning more than women, but the silence when you see the reverse is astonishing. Surveys show that there are companies where statistics show men being paid less than women, but there is no criticism levelled there.

In fact, quick Google search shows just how misrepresentative some data is: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/04/gender-pay-gap-figures-show-eight-in-10-uk-firms-pay-men-more-than-women

This doesn't even take into account the jobs that people are doing, just the gender and the hourly rate of pay! As one company states, "81% of male employees were directors, doctors or in IT, most of whom fell into the upper salary quartile".

To summarise, I agree that there is a pay gap between different people, and I believe there should be. I don't believe gender is a factor in this.