Secrets of the gender pay gap Gold sh ed ne and ex lod n e s

Does Wonder Woman get paid as much as Thor? NURY VITTACHI tries to find out

Let the l n o ker n k ds and y n o e ts e n Ha y hol days, M s

This columnist, who is also a writer of books, was at a school as a Visiting Author when one of the children asked a question: “How much does Thor get paid?”

BY MELISSA DOMINGO

B“Good question,” I said. “Superhero salaries are never revealed. However, they seem to do just fine. Definitely they get paid more than authors or teachers!” (Always good to get the academic staff on side.)

nuggets than usual. hic en nuggets are an integral part of my daughter’s Wednesday lunches and are therefore my res onsi ility.

oth my kids are having meltdo ns. sol ed their bickering over the television by sim ly un lugging the ca les. hase one o er hase t o uic ly ensued. y three year old di ed a handful of Play Doh into my nine-year-old daughter s hot chocolate. ne of them is crying on the couch hile the other is thro ing a tantrum on the floor. atch them resignedly and simultaneously orry a out our et goldfish eorge.

Then a teenage girl’s hand shot up. “I bet Thor and Iron Man get paid more than Wonder Woman,” she snarled.

“Yeah,” the other girls growled - and so did the teachers. The atmosphere turned to ice. Teaching staff (all female except two) nodded sternly at this timely reminder of evil gender inequality.

“In superhero land, boys and girls get paid exactly the same,” I said, trying to dodge the bullet.

What I was thinking (but didn’t say) was this. Many male superheroes clearly have massive incomes (think Iron Man, Batman, Black Panther, Mr Fantastic, Nighthawk, Professor X, Green Arrow, etc). But Wonder Woman, if memory serves me, was a nurse! Probably earned peanuts!

Why was everyone in a bad mood about this? The previous month, a news report said that in the creative industries generally, male stars get paid more than female stars. Earlier that week, a study of the BBC showed that women presenters earned significantly less than men.

The internet was filled with outrage at what they saw as horrendous sex discrimination, as were the three women in this columnist’s family.

Before I became a mum, regular things occupied my thoughts - career, loved ones and the future. orried a out my hair ardro e music and li stic . once as ed my mum to purchase my favourite lipstick early ude hile she as at the store. he e t as ing for lmost a ed . eedless to say it as una aila le an unnecessary aside, but I do remember feeling dee ly concerned for my mum. o e er after ecoming a mum my mind is o errun ith more di erse and ressing issues. Ta e this morning for e am le. ha e een feeling an ious a out our godfish eorge ho lingers at the otton of his tan . n s ite of our multi le efforts he refuses to return to his normal self. y ids consider him to e a legitimate treasured family mem er. My daughter even threatened to sell the other t o fish li ing ith eorge as she elie es they are mean to him. as supposed to test the pH level of the tank this morning but ran into some delays…

Here’s something else I didn’t say. This writer has spent years in the creative industries (including working for the BBC), and knows full well that financial chiefs of these organisations are heartless automatons who see nothing but bottom

My son only eats ‘exploding eggs’ lines. They honestly don’t care if you are male, female, transgender, hermaphrodite or a googly-eyed alien from the planet Zorg.

So while it’s true that discrimination exists, that’s not the whole story.

Academic studies repeatedly show that women at certain stages earn less money by choice, because they have a superior attitude to work-life balance. Guys sign up for every promotion and burn out into early graves, while women make smart compromises and live happier, longer, healthier lives.

(sunnysideu ). unintentionally left his egg in the pan longer than needed resulting in him ecoming uite e losi e hen the yol didn t e lode . uic ly coo ed him another e losi e egg. The

Researchers call this the “self-selected pay gap.” Journalists never write about this because outrage sells more newspapers and gets more clicks.

The gap between male and female pay at the BBC is much smaller than the UK average, indicating the organisation is unusually successful at finding ways to steer money into the hands of female staff.

Then there s the matter of cu ca es. As I took the banana cupcakes out of the o en ondered if their ra ers ould eel off easily for the comfort of my little highnesses. then changed my son into something arm and al ed across the room to shut the indo on the inter rain. uddenly found myself um ing fi e feet across the room to catch my son as he tum led off a high ile of ego and o es. is talent for falling off things has made me a pro at diving across rooms, running, and catching things e en in my slee . have often saved my kids in a split second one handed sometimes otherhood has certainly sharpened my reflexes beyond my earlier a ility to (mostly) catch the car eys hen thro n at me

“Wonder Woman is a nurse,” he said. I was about to tell him to shut up for his personal safety (female teachers were hovering nearby), when he added something that got me thinking, “She’s an army nurse with the rank of Major.” e losi e uality of eggs is something must carefully consider these days. also made a mental note to address the issue of chic en nuggets. The cafeteria staff at my daughter s school ga e her t o less

My son said, “Mamma, I promise never to rea the layer again. decided not to in estigate the comment further. ressed the s in utton on the ashing machine and settled do n ith my cu of lu e arm coffee and the egg that had refused to e lode. arely armed my chair hen the meltdo n occurred forcing me to get u and disconnect the tele ision. This personal anecdote is not a lifechanging read. This is ust to share an e een there moment ith my fello mums. ome days are for sunny s ies and fish’n’chips but most days are for goldfish medicine and e loding eggs.

Interesting. There is no gender pay gap in the military, and US army Majors earn a fortune, more than $100,000 a year.

After my school talk, I was signing books when I was approached by a nerdy boy who was a fount of knowledge about superheroes.

Thor, being a minor Norse god, probably doesn’t get paid anything at all.

Oh well, Wonder Woman seems like a nice person - she can buy Thor a drink.

Here’s to all the undercover superhumans ho ha e surrendered their minds to chic en nuggets and cu ca e ra ers. ay the force e ith you as you stir t o ots simultaneously hile uggling tum ling children and flying o ects. nly ninjas are capable of such dexterity!