A Bug's Life

Female earnings are horribly discounted from their male equivalents. That's not to say that there aren't some females who do get paid equitably, but general parity is still a long way away.

Part of it is going to be that the 'break for a family' usually involves the mother being the one to take the break, and while she's off, her career is stalled. But there's also an unjust assumption by many employers that any woman can't help dropping sprogs, and will take time off, so there's no point in assuming otherwise.

Part of it is that males are more competitive. Since asking people not to be competitive is pretty much a non-starter, the solution to that has to be for the people handing out the rewards (again, the employers) to assess on the basis of value of work, and to note that although women may bring different benefits, those benefits shouldn't be undervalued just because they are different.