Very good article. I work in sales for a tech company and while I love my job, when I started I found out within a few months that I was being paid less than my male colleague who was performing far worse than me. Armed with that knowledge, I went to my boss and explained that since I was their top performer, I deserved to be paid at least as well as this other person. Since I had the information and the results to back it up, my boss actually not only gave me the pay rise I asked for, but gave me a greater pay rise, bringing my overall base salary above that of the underperforming male colleague. I have used such information to my advantage to negotiate a pay rise when I was promoted as well. Comparing salaries is so important to get what you deserve to be paid.