Actually although that is received wisdom in the feminist movement it does not stand up to independent analysis.
It is a statistical aberration as it compares ALL women with ALL Men. Many women simply do not want a career, but view family care, child care and general nurture as more valuable services to society. If you take these women out of the comparison, and only compare women who want a career with men who want a career, women earn more and are finally reaching higher levels- which plainly could not have happened overnight.
Any government agency (and under EU law all bodies contracting with Government agencies are deemed to be Government agencies themselves) MUST appoint a woman out of two candidates who are similarly qualified. Not, you note , as well qualified).

Bigglesworth,

Sorry to hear about your mother in law's situation.

Have you tried to get legal advice about her situation?

When my mother was alive, although her situation was completely different, she was faced with a demand for overpayment (not her fault at all but worked out by the DHSS) (or whatever it was called then) over several years, actually in person at her own front door and she naturally was so upset. The jobsworth who called even asked for her Post Office Savings Book so they could get the money but because although she was physically disabled she was still very savvy, she did not hand it over.

My sister and I stepped in and went to the local office to sort it out. In the end we successfully appealed on her behalf and because it was not her fault
they decided to drop the case, and she paid none of it.

Mind you, had she not had my sister and I to fight her corner, the matter might have ended quite differently.

Good luck if you decide to appeal against their decision.

So I am interested in why people are actually leaving Spain.....

Impey thank you - I was feeling a bit raw.

I'd like to see where you got your statistics from and what careers they refer to. I stopped counting the number of female friends that complained to me they were getting paid less than their male colleagues, even though they were doing the same job or more.

Although it's off topic, it is actually quite an important topic as I'm sure there are British men and women of all ages who are going to have to return to UK to look for work.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2051249.ece


A nice little story in that you don't have to keep up with the Jones to be happy

I agree, just as I have lost count of the number of male friends who have lost out to an under-qualified woman. Anecdotes however make poor evidence.
The ONS did publish these figures until about 5 years ago. Accenture did one about three or four years ago, I imagine you will find it on their website.
In fact, all you have to do though is to work it out for yourself. The comparisons are always for all people in work, although women make up the overwhelming majority of the part time labour force and also (for perfectly understandable and valid reasons) are more likely to be not in work and to take long career breaks. Therefore the surveys do not compare like with like.
One of the most worrying aspects is that women now comprise nearly two thirds of entrants to the main professions, Law, Medicine, Teaching and Accountancy.
All of us are at our most productive and creative in our mid to late 30s, when we have mastered the intricacies of our chosen profession. This is when the senior consultants, partners in law firms and accountancy practices are selected and start training as neurosurgeons and the like. The dropout rate is high. This however is exactly the time when career women have to make a choice -family or career. Obviously this gives career women an awful dilemma.
But it creates a worse one for society, as the existing senior partners consultants etc have to make a choice between a woman who is quite likely to exercise her right to take parental leave and may never return and a smaller pool of male candidates. If she does however return she has significantly less time to develop those higher level skills before her faculties start their inevitable decline. ANY senior surgeon will tell you that it is that incessant practice under supervision that they rely on in later years.
You may say so what, men have had it their own way for too long, and all of us will agree with you.
But there is an issue of the public good here. Do YOU want to be operated on by a brain surgeon who was at home for much of the most crucial learning period of their career?
I don't mean to be controversial, but there is no such thing as a free lunch

So am I

Different reasons. Jobs are becoming hard to come by everywhere at the moment and more so in Spain for the brits. There were never a widespan of jobs for us expats anyway to begin with but the situation is much worse.

Ive had a lot of good years here and it wouldnt be a major disaster if I went back home. All my family is there and old friends and im back in a country which speaks my language.

If I could live off fresh air I would

Definitely not a free lunch. But the same lunch. The EOC did a similar study in 2001 and found that in some parts of UK pay disparity reached as much as 22%. Your concerns for society are commendable but I'm sure many wouldn't agree with you.

Quite a few friends and family members have moved back to UK in the last two years. Trying to support families when times are out can be difficult. The good news is that they all got work when they went back and are getting on with their lives.

For all its faults i still think the UK is a great place to live.

What? Even the North?????

Even the north.

Good for them but coming from Bucks there is obviously some cash there in the first place. He didnt actually say how much redundancy he got.

Nice story but we are not all in a position to sell up and move into a tiny village nr Valencia.

If he cant find work where he is then what chance does he have over here espcially where they are living now??

Someone mentioned this a few days back as being one year millionaires.