@ChateauMargaux Of course nobody chooses to be paid less, it just so happens that more women choose occupations that do pay less. Regarding the 'same work' comment just because a man and woman have the same job title it doesn't means they should automatically earn the same. We can't assume any discrepancies in pay or promotions are merely due to sexism, there can be many factors at play such as the potential differences in experience, hours worked and level of qualification etc. For example, a man who has been doing a particular job at a company for 15 years SHOULD be paid more than a woman who has been working there for a year, and vice versa. However, the law in the UK is unequivocal about equal pay for equal work, should anyone find themselves paid less for no valid reason you can take legal action against the employer and not only have the wage benchmarked but seek compensation on grounds of sexism.
I don't agree that people are assigned a role whilst in the womb. This is a terrible victim mentality to have and not conducive to success. The expectation of girls being more caring isn't an expectation it is a biological fact that has stood true for the last 300,000 years of not only human evolution but most other species too. People will accept that men are inherently more aggressive than women (we only have to look at violent crime stats for proof) yet question whether women are more caring? Hormones are undeniably responsible for both, we can't take one to be true without acknowledging the other to also be true.
Your daughter sounds like a credit to you. Now we could talk about the possibility of girls who like science feeling intimidated to not enter STEM, but that can be linked back to the biological and behavioural differences between the sexes, in that women are generally more agreeable, less likely to engage in confrontation and are more emotionally affected by how we are perceived or think we are perceived. Whilst I wouldn't disagree that societal factors can play a role in these behaviours (to some extent), it is a chicken/egg situation. However, if you are a confident capable person there are no legal restrictions preventing women from earing the same as or MORE than their male counterparts depending on experience etc as mentioned before. Personally, I've never experienced any negativity for being female whilst working in male dominated industries. My genuine fear is with the current quota madness taking over, that my male peers will think I am a box ticked for inclusivity purposes rather than merit.
I find it interesting when the pay gap argument comes up, nobody ever complains about the lack of female representation amongst say sewage workers, yet complain about the lack of CEOs. Feminism is about women being free to make our own choices. There is a real possibility of some feminists being so radical in their endeavour to 'close the pay gap' that they undermine the fabrics of feminism altogether. The law provides equality of opportunity, it should never allow for equality of outcome, that would be to the detriment of all.