The pitchforks are still out for all things City. Having had some of its activities labelled “socially useless” now its the turn of the equalities quango to deliver a stab…

Women earn around 80% less than men in performance-related pay at some of the UK’s leading finance companies, according to an official inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The disparity is a major factor behind the massive gender pay gap in the finance sector claims the quango.

And guess what.

The Inquiry also suggests that the sector’s age profile may be a key factor blocking women’s success. An unusually high proportion of workers in the sector fall into the 25-39 age group – the age at which women tend to have childcare responsibilities.

Don’t get us wrong here – getting the equality balance right is of great importance and if the figures are to believed there is clearly much work to be done. However, it does strike us that the childcare piece of the puzzle might not fit anywhere else no matter which way round you put it.

And forgive our scepticism but lending enormous credibility to the timing and substance of this report, guess who?

“We cannot tackle discrimination if it is hidden, which is why I asked the commission to produce this report.” said Harriet Harman, minister for women and equality misandry.

And her conclusion?

She added it was “unlikely men-only boards and management would ever deliver the change in working culture, such as family-friendly flexible working and childcare, that would allow women to flourish in the workplace”.

As we weren’t sure her position was that all men are evil/useless/sexist, we can at least thank the EHRC for giving her the opportunity to clarify it.