Gender pay gap

[ordi]

Did anyone see tonight's Panorama about gender pay gap? There was a bit about BBC paying John McEnroe more for Wimbledon than Martina Navratilova. I'm all for equality, whether it be gender or ethnic or age etc, but Martina's case seemed a bit poor really considering - according to the BBC - McEnroe was contracted to do more, more commentary, more appearances, more commitments. If they both had the same contractual commitments and she got paid less, then yes I can see why that seems unfair.
However, I think the gender pay gap argument misses one crucial point.....what the individual brings in terms of experience, skills, and in broadcasting their celebrity appeal and viewer engagement. Even in sport, say football, there is a reason why Messi earns more than other strikers. They play the same game, on the same pitch, the same 90mins, in the same role. But Messi is Messi. And if I had taken over from Mary Berry on BakeOff years ago, why should I - a nobody - command the same pay as Mary Berry?
Of course - sadly - there is discrimination in the world. Gender, ethnic etc. And we should try to address this. But some of this gender pay gap stuff seems miscalculated.

 

[Audi Bairn]

My view is similar.
If person A is better at their job than person B, then person A should get paid more whether their male, female, black, white, 25 yrs old or 50 yrs old.
The problem now is the genuine cases of discrimination / inequality are being diluted by others jumping on the band wagon and god help anyone who questions it.

 

[wab172uk]

Regarding Tennis. Yes, pay the women the same prize fund as the men. But then, make the Women play up to 5 sets like the men have to.

Regarding Asda, and shop workers wanting same pay as warehouse workers. Again fine, but as a consequence, said women should be on a rota to go work in the warehouse. If they want the same pay, they should be expected to do the same job.

Office staff. If both a man and a woman start on the same day, have same education and qualification, and do exactly the same job, then yes they should receive equal pay. However, if the bloke has been there 5 years, does more work, works more hours, and is deemed by the company to be more of an asset, then he (or woman) should be paid more than the other.

If you work on a production line doing the same job, then yes equal pay.

Actors. If you are a leading male star, who's name draws people into the cinema, then yes, you should be expected to be rewarded in you pay packet. `You` are the star making the film company the money. Why should a female actress get the same pay when she's not the draw? When she's not the main character? I don't hear Angelina Jolie, Sigourney Weaver etc complaining they were paid more than their counterparts in movies, they were the main star in.

Unless it's a factory job, equal pay is impossible, and experience, work ethic, qualifications etc are all taken into account when an employer is awarding pay.

 

[DieselJake]

If more people watched woman's football than men's the shoe would be on the other foot, allot of celebrity type roles are more about viewing figures and it appears people prefer males to present TV programs, etc (sexist or not). Men also have allot more pressure to get higher paid jobs/promotions as they could be in a position where they are the soul provider for the family (arguably this could also be the other way around but men pay child support in this scenario) plus it's pretty emasculating to not be the bread winner (well it definitely was for me until I changed rolls anyway).

Edit: Oh and then theirs divorce... see I'm not married and don't have kids... yet... could well be because I over think worst case scenarios.

 

[superkarl]

unfortunately we live in a society where social justice warriors pose a real threat to the intellectual evolution of the human race