‘I earn more and have more self respect as an escort’

I worked at the head office of a building society for several years. I started off on the usual starting wage and by the time I finished I had progressed to just under £17,000. However a male colleague of mine was on £21,000. When I asked why I wasn’t paid the same I was given so many different excuses. I promised my line manager that if I wasn’t offered a pay increase at my end of year review I’d leave. I wasn’t so I left. I’ve since become a self-employed escort, earn more and have more self respect. Anonymous

‘You are harming the feminist movement’

People get the wage they negotiate during the hiring process, or a set hourly rate. There is no pay gap for people doing the same work. You are doing so much harm to the feminist movement. Anonymous

‘I get paid less than my female colleagues’

I’m a man who gets paid less than my female colleagues. We are all around the same age, have similar experience and education. My boss has openly dropped hints and joked about “bucking the trend” when it comes to gender. Ed, 40, scientific management

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‘I had to “mansplain” it to him’

I work at a university for a health research unit. When [my colleague and I] discussed wages once, we found that while we work in the same position, I happen to have about five years more experience, as well as a more advanced degree, both of which lead to my having more responsibility at work in the same position. However, he earns nearly $4 [£3.30] per hour more than I do, ie over $7k [£5,800] more per year. For doing less in the same job. At first, he didn’t get that this was a gender issue so I had to “mansplain” it to him. Anonymous

‘All female editors made less’

We started a union in the newsroom and they opened the books, revealing that all female editors made less than the male editors. Same job, same workload, side-by-side, exact same duties every day. Our boss, the editor-in-chief, was a woman. This was about six or seven years ago now, not decades ago. The union upped all the female editors’ salaries to match the male editors’. Nina, 33, writer and editor

‘Sexism can be a two way street’

I spent most of my youth in menial jobs being paid the same as my female colleagues but was expected to do any heavy lifting or physical work as I was a man. Sexism can be a two way street. Barry, 48, software developer

‘My manager said male waiters deserved more tips’



I worked as a waitress during my degree. In one restaurant all staff were on minimum wage, and tips were pooled and supposedly divided equally on a weekly basis. It took a few weeks to find out that although we all worked the same hours, male staff were being given at least double the tips – female staff were making around £60 per week compared to the £120-150 male staff were making. When challenged, the (male) manager said that male staff were better for custom and deserved more tips. I didn’t stay there long. Evelyn, 28, former waitress

‘A pay rise was more than forthcoming once I resigned’

I found out that a male colleague at exactly the same level and doing precisely the same job was paid £2,000 a year more than me (and had a larger bonus), despite the fact that I had qualified as an actuary quicker than he had. Needless to say, I was furious and challenged it. Eventually I was promised that the difference would be corrected “over time”. I subsequently found out that my male colleague was then explicitly told by his manager not to speak to me about pay again. After that I decided to leave and it was the best thing I’ve ever done – a business that treats its women in such an appalling way is not a place to build a career. Ironically, a pay rise was more than forthcoming once I handed in my resignation and it was quite satisfying to be able to say that no amount of money would make me stay. Dawn, 30, actuarial consultant

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‘I was told I could not expect to earn the same as my husband’



My husband and I are both lawyers and we worked as a team in one of the firm’s foreign offices. At the time of the pay review I was told that as a woman I could not expect to earn the same as my husband because I was the second salary earner in our relationship. This was despite me having higher billable hours than him that year. Anonymous

‘How can you prove it’s gender bias?’



My husband and I both retrained as teachers following successful previous careers and actually secured jobs at the same school once we qualified, although he did this eight years before I did. He was offered a salary grade two points higher than me. The problem with these things is, how can you prove it’s gender bias? Did I enter teaching in a time of greater financial pressures? Was the headteacher who hired me less generous than the one who hired him? Was he actually just better at teaching? There’s no way to know. What I do know is that that jump up the pay scale is equivalent to an extra £25,000 over the course of our careers. Anonymous

‘Being a guy got me this promotion’

I’m a guy but I’ve seen the inequalities at play and it annoys me too. To my surprise, a month after [two of my female colleagues resigned] I was effectively promoted, or rather a new supervisor role was created for me and I was given a 15% salary increase. I know I’m a valuable asset but I don’t think I’m better than either of the two who left. I reckon being a guy got me this promotion, but it came at the expense of a poorer office environment and the upheaval that always comes with replacing new staff. I’d rather have the salary increase shared between the three of us than take it all for myself, and it won’t surprise you to learn that I’m thinking about looking for new work too. Anonymous

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