What women in their 50s REALLY earn: From the cafe owner to the part-time teacher, nine workers reveal their salaries... and whether they think they're paid what they're worth. So how do YOU compare?

It's the great British taboo to ask: 'How much do you earn?' Yet among midlife women, perhaps we ought to be asking it more. The gender pay gap for those aged 50 to 59 is a yawning 12.5 per cent.