I'm not sure that ?250 quid is going to become a fortune in 18 years. If you invested in stocks and shares and got a tax free 10% return, and inflation stayed at an average of 3%, then after 18 years your ?250 would be worth, if my calculations are correct, ?845 in real terms.

Roz, you say that women tend to work, raise kids and do domestic chores. You seem to imply that women tend to contribute more to the family than men.

(NB. I realise that not all familys consist of one man and one women, but just for the sake of simplicity here...)

If so, then that's surely the solution is to more evenly share the child raising and domestic duties, not to artificially (and arguably unfairly) raise women's pay, isn't it?

I'm glad you've had some success overcoming discrimination in your career, by the way. The more pioneers like you fighting for fairness, the easier it will be for others in future. I've said it before, but I'll say it again; I fully support that you should get equal pay to male colleagues doing the same job, with the same skills and experience and the same level of performance.

The root of this thread has nothing to do with hatred of women. I do hate the abuse (whether intentional or through ignorance) of statistics to falsely claim support for a certain political agenda, and that was my gripe.