Earlier quoted context omitted.
You prefaced an attack on anecdata with... "anecdata"
The original poster also didn't really say anything about pay inequality. Just, that women ancestors were financially independent. Also > Also add that all of my female ancestors from 1900 onward held good jobs and were largely financially independent (which contradicts the article saying it didn't really happen before 1975). So rustynails may have trend data for at least the women in their family. And all of them ha…
It sounds like it's just a project to look for specific counter-examples, rather than a proper gestalt look at society as it was.
And really, if you want to tell if 'society has gone off the rails', pretend (if you aren't already) that you're a minority, a woman, or gay, and then ask "Would I rather be living in today's society, or that of the 50s and 60s?".