Equal pay for Women - comparing Apples and Oranges

The unelected chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has decided that the current debate about compensation in the (investment) banking industry is too good an opportunity to miss. He offers his five cents of wisdom in an article headlined 'Her City bonus is a fifth the size of his' leaving the reader in no doubt what the likely conclusion of this piece of reasoned argument will be. The sub header gives the game away: it carries the subtle threat inherent in all socio-babble propagated by socialists and assorted hangers on of the nanny state: 'We'll help the City to treat women fairly - or we'll force them'. (Does Mr. Phillips now use the royal 'we'?). It is too tiresome to discuss the details of this so-called 'study' as it is perfectly clear from the outset that an extremely detailed comparison between workers at exactly the same employment situation is required if one wants to isolate the gender impact on basic and variable compensation. It is ironic that the department regularly involved with recruitment and compensation is ofther predominantly staffed by members of the fair sex. So there is already a slender bias in favour of women candidates and employees in many organisations.