Courtesy, curtness and my gender pay gap report

Zoe Williams wonders whether the “courtly courtesy” I showed to her is genuine or sarcastic (Why pay-gap truthers are on the rise, G2, 23 April). I’m pleased to confirm it’s the former – perhaps it’s my American friendliness, or perhaps it’s how any decent person acts in a green room, but I’ve always found that debate on-camera should not preclude pleasantries off-camera. I do take issue with the description of “practically curtseying”, however; Yankees ruled out this act on 4 July 1776.

From courtesy to curt – Ms Williams’ description of my pay gap report as legitimising “alt-right YouTube narrative[s]” makes me wonder if she believes it is problematic or offensive for a woman, in her own time and off her own back, to show an interest in statistics – and indeed, the manipulation of statistics.

I note she does not flag up inaccurate facts or stats in my gender pay gap report, but instead takes issue with a lack of personal opinion to contextualise it (something that is frowned upon in academic briefings, and better saved for Guardian columns). Her own misunderstanding of part-time work calculations (and that hourly pay measurements only account for one varying factor) would suggest she should stop viewing maths as an evil tool of radical rightwingers, and start viewing it as a constructive instrument to criticise and challenge.
Kate Andrews
Associate director, Institute of Economic Affairs; author of The Gender Pay Gap Reporting Measures: 2019 Update

• I think that both women and men would like to be paid with usable 12-sided pound coins rather than the obsolete round pounds that appear in the illustration published alongside Zoe Williams’ article.
Elizabeth Manning
Malvern, Worcestershire

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