Good multitasking doesn't imply "best team players." That's pure feminist nonsense. The team was invented to allow hugely competent single tasking men, to parallelise their ability, What you're referring to is more akin to a gathering of jack of all trade multitaskers, and this can't compete with a team of dedicated non interfering, non overlapping experts. I do however, completely agree with the comment about people earn what they feel they are worth. Regards,

Charles., London,

It will take nothing short of a revolution to alter the structures, organisations and institutions built over centuries by men for men. They cannot help having created this world, it suits them. In general, men tend to enjoy hierarchies, climbing ladders, boasting about their achievements, its part of being male, so its what come to be expected by employers. Women don't ask for a payrise for all the reasons given but essentially because they're women; born and brought up to enjoy more collaborative structures, teamworking, not putting themselves before others, it usually works well for women...until they enter a man's world. I think we may need a revolution because it will take too long to change things from within. Good luck to those women willing to try.

kaz, london,

Yes it is true that those who shout loudest get their way.

Men are suffering badly therefore in the work place as nobody shouts louder than a woman.

Jason Nowland, Leeds, United Kingdom

woman have a problem with equality, men have always know the glass cieling,the dumb boss,plagerism,wages based on arse licking not on ability. The art of playing one employee against another, men understand woman are cheaper,and to work is to ask for the sack, woman have to grow up and join the workforce on an equal bases, the chip on the shoulder whine is wearing thin.History shows the company will always go for the cheaper option, genda,race age colour country not a consideration.

michael joseph heavey, cahersiveen>adams towns, madness

The employer also makes a grave mistake if they think that 'pay me what you think I'm worth' is NOT a negotiating position. It is a test of long-term behaviour rather than spot-price bargaining.

Much depends, though, on whether the employer holds any kind of long-term economic model. If all you need to do is get the next month's care rosta covered, then what happens to the value of the company over the next decade will not be important to you. It is not important to most managers as they are rewarded for short-term target hitting rather than long term sustainable working practices.

If a company is engaging in discriminatory employment practices, don't lend them money, don't over extend their credit, don't buy their shares, and don't sign long-term agreements with them because they are signalling that they don't regard it as important to think ahead because they don't think they will be in the market at all. And they are probably right.

D Shemuel, Cambridge, England

Drivel. Re-read the piece and just swap the gender of each reference to men or women. Had it been published like that, there'd be cries of "sexism! sexism!" and all the usual PMT-inspired noise.

Big foolish crappy generalizations are seemingly OK when they paint men in a bad light, but are a thought-crime when they do so for women.

So was this just sloppy journalism, or bigotry?

Nick Beard, Seattle, US

It's definately difficult. I'm planning on asking for my first rise in January during my yearly apparaisal. I know I'll be very nervous because my boss has made it clear that he doesn't like people asking for raises just to fund their lifestyles. So I'll have to make it very clear that I'm worth it and that if I don't get the rise I'll go elsewhere where I know I'll be paid more. Sounds good but I'm still petrified about doing it!

However my boyfriend has no such problems - he's already said that if his bonus (I don't even have a bonus) isn't large enough then he'll leave. I think men find it easier to be convinced that should have something more, whereas women are just grateful to have a job!

Beth, Paris, France

Last time I asked for a pay rise I got bullied by my boss until I left the company.
Up until then I'd been very popular.

Thalia, London,

My experience in over 25 years of employment is that women have strengths far and above men in certain areas, but team playing isn't one of them. The most ruthlesslessly self seeking individuals I've worked along side were women.

Chris, Birmingham,

If you don't ask you don't get - society in general should understand that you don't get life handed to you on a plate and that if you want something you have to ask for it and earn it. Expecting to be treated "equal" and then moaning when you find out you're not is naive to say the least.

Doug Bates, St. Albans,

Thanks for the beautiful headline. It made me laugh and it explains why I've got into trouble sometimes (I'm a male).
But seriously, women should be paid equal to or even more than men for the same job in my opinion.

SM Hussain, Hyderabad, India

Another piece of recent research showed that those women who did ask for payrises were treated much less positively than the men who requested a raise. It's the old story: the men were seen as assertive, the women as pushy - and the men's requests were more likely to succeeded. The researchers concluded that those women who didn't ask for rises weren't just being passive: it was actually a sensible assessment of their lower chances of success. Notably, both male and female managers had this response to a woman asking for a pay increase...

Jay, London,

There was also some evidence from Babcock's research that women who negotiated were seen in a more negative light than men who negotiate, and people were less willing to work with them. This suggests that maybe women are absolutely right not to negotiate because of the ways in which they are perceived differently from the male negotiators. There does tend to be a perception that tough women who ask for what they want are "pushy", while the same characteristics in a man are associated with success.

Philippa Norridge, London,

It's not as simple as asking for more money - I'm a woman who's asked for a raise to reach the level of my male colleagues and my male supervisors regarded this as overly ambitious and greedy. Whether it's because they think I'm younger than I am or because they know my husband makes a decent salary or because they're just living in the past, they seem to think that I should be happy with what they offer. I finally got my raise and promotion through lengthy discussions with HR - and a job comparison exercise which made it clear that I was doing the same job as the men.

t, Aberdeen,

If you want to know how much your colleagues are paid you could try asking them. It always works for me.

Nathaniel Cross, Guildford,

It is far more complex than simply a male/female issue, but I agree that negotiating for a pay rise is key here. How about the simple fact that it is as you gain experience and confidence that you are better able to do that, hence age will be a factor? Or that women will have fewer role models and mentors - our mothers were the first generation to have careers at all, and they struggled just to get jobs and be accepted, let alone get promoted and win pay rises - no wonder your friend needed coaching from her husband. I personally have gone with trial and error, but am starting to get there. What we are all missing from these press stories is a 'how to' guide for women seeking pay rises or wanting to negotiate on a job offer.

Alison, London,

No matter how many times they are disproven,feminist bigots in the media continue to repeat the same old lies. When you take into account qualifications and experience, women are actually paid *more* than men for the same job. This has been known for many years. If feminists really wanted equal treatment,they would be promoting relatively lower wages for women and higher for men. What is the probability they will actually do this? Zero.

Pat, Birmingham,

Manners maketh man - and woman. There must be many men who cannot fight for what they want, although a little excess testosterone no doubt helps the ruthless and uncivilised shout louder.

Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

"Half the teams got 50 cents for each member for every problem solved; the other half got $3 per problem solved, but the cash only went to the individual who did the solving. The women performed much the same whichever group they were in. The men did 50 per cent better in the second group than the first. "

Maybe the women couldn't solve the problems: you don't tell us.

russell brown, amsterdam,

Most of the women I work with shout LOUDER than the men, full of strident feminism and a chip on their shoulders larger then 1980s joan Collins shoulderpads. It makes them look like prats.

Dave , Notts, UK

I think its wrong to single out women in this situation in fact many men have the same problem. You shouldn't approach it as how you feel but how you deal with the politics of the situation. With budgetting now very tight in most organisations we may well be approaching the time where only the most regarded (seen to be) will enjoy an annual salary rise, the rest will have to ask/justify. I am beginning to believe that one of the reasons why women are doing so well in middle management is because they aren't demanding - in the financial sense - and hence can be more convincing to those that report to them.

Mike, Hadleigh, Suffolk, UK

Yes, it's horribly unfair. As Marx and Engels should have written (but, being men, didn't), "Women of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains."
That said, women in their 30s may be backward in coming forward. Women ten years younger are, I suspect, much more like their male contemporaries, eager to tell you how good they are at their jobs, and that they want more money and want it now, not next year.

J.Fletcher, Canterbury, UK