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.

As the first generation of women for whom horizons were, in theory at least, limitless and who often broke the mould in male-dominated careers, those now in their 50s should be at the pinnacle of their career – and their earning power.

And yet the gender pay gap between men and women aged 50 to 59 is a yawning 12.5 per cent, compared to 0.9 per cent for those aged 22 to 29.

Are the old obstacles of middle age – juggling teens, caring for elderly relatives and struggling through the menopause – still holding women back?

Have these Generation X women been forced to go part-time and taken a hit to their earning power or have they chosen it themselves for a less stressful life?

And for those still powering forward, what does a top salary look like?

More to the point, how do their earnings compare to yours?

From the at-home pronunciation coach cancelling her holidays for work to the jet-setting nanny for the uber-rich, we convinced nine 50-something women to reveal their take home pay – and whether they think they’re getting what they’re worth…

Women in their 50s should be at the pinnacle of their career and their earning power – yet the gender pay gap between men and women aged 50 to 59 is a yawning 12.5 per cent (posed by model)

A cafe owner, with a salary of £30,000, said the business was ‘good way to make money and very sociable’ but did put a strain on her home life (posed by model)

The Executive Assistant, 52, from London: £70,750

I got made redundant last March and when trying to find a role, I was quite surprised at how little money they were offering given my experience. I think sometimes being a bit older, it does put people off.

The role I ended up taking first offered me £5,000 less but I negotiated up another £3,000 and have just got a 4 per cent pay rise, so my salary is about right.

Executive assistants get dismissed as being secretary types who just ‘do diaries’. In fact, the job means growing with the business, using your initiative to find gaps where things could be made more efficient and seeing where systems can be streamlined – not just sitting on your laurels between nine and five.

I’ve been in this line of work for 30 years. One of the things I’m proudest of is mentoring a team of five over the course of eight years, who are still in touch and ask for my guidance even now we’ve all moved on to other roles. I’m hoping to retire by 60 because that’s when my private pension will come in. If you work as a personal assistant to an individual rather than in a company, as I do, the salaries are higher. But at my age I don’t want to live and breathe a job 24 hours a day.

The Cafe Owner, 54, from Axminster: £30,000

I bought my first cafe in Lyme Regis, Dorset, around 20 years ago. It was a good way to make money and very sociable but it did put a strain on my home life while my children were at school. My relationship didn’t last and maintaining friendships was challenging, too.

Things have really changed in the past few years as people have become so much more used to staying in. I’m currently moving from a small cafe space into a larger one – so this is my project for the next 15 or 20 years until I no longer want to work, or can’t, or drop dead!

Financially, things have become more arduous so I’m bringing my costs down with the next cafe by owning the freehold and moving to a street with more footfall, which should increase business. I’ll be grateful once that starts paying off.

I’m lucky I’m frugal and shrewd. I’ve always got a nest egg, so even when it’s quite lean, I don’t feel like I’m struggling because my savings can keep things ticking over. I don’t do stocks and shares – I haven’t got time to mess around, really. I just keep money going into my savings account and try to keep things level for myself and my youngest, 19, who still lives at home.

I enjoy the autonomy of what I do, even if I have to be more careful now.

The Consultant Growth Strategist, 57, from London: £250,000

It looks like I earn a lot but I’ve actually taken a massive pay cut. I worked overseas for 25 years in Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong for four different companies providing growth strategies to executives and earned double my UK salary of £250,000 without paying anywhere near as much tax. I definitely had to compromise on lifestyle once I moved back to the UK in 2020.

In Asia, my husband and I lived in modern three-bedroom apartments in central locations, with daily household help and short commutes. In London we downsized to a one-bedroom flat in Zone 4 with minimal help. (We also have two properties we rent out, in London and East Anglia, as part of our retirement investments.) It doesn’t feel like we live a lavish lifestyle but we do fine. It hasn’t been easy. For 25 years I worked 12-hour days, six days a week and juggled UK, US and Australasian time zones. Most months, I also travelled between clients for two weeks. It was great but exhausting.

While we chose not to have children, I had to take two years out in my 50s due to the perimenopause, a hysterectomy and menopause – and to care for my late mother through terminal cancer.

I’ve had four female friends – all in their 50s, in leadership posts – be made redundant in the past two months and many are having to tighten their belts, particularly with putting children through university and paying for elderly relatives’ care.

No matter how senior you are, you can never be safe. I’ve spent the past year studying AI and digital transformation. Experience matters but in 2026 you have to keep up and stay current.

The Nanny, 54, from London: £72,000

I got a degree in psychology, went into banking, then stayed at home raising my three children. During the pandemic, I retrained as a maternity nurse – something that was only possible because, by then, I was divorced and my children had left home. I now work for ultra-high net worth families, travelling all over the world.

I started on around £20,000 a year but have found it easy to get work and increase my fees. It’s quite normal now for nannies to earn up to £100,000 a year.

I generally do short-term contracts as a maternity nurse but am always asked to stay on as a nanny. I have been with my current family for a year. Along with my salary, I get accommodation, food and expenses, like flying home every couple of weeks, included.

After my divorce, I was really worried about money. I never thought I’d be earning what I am now. But I invested well, buying a flat in Bristol that I rent out, and I should be able to draw a lump sum from my pension in the next few years, which I will reinvest – possibly in another property.

It’s hard to reach a work/life balance in this job. Dating can be particularly hard when you travel as much as I do. During the limited time I have off, I’m normally travelling to see my children, driving between Exeter, Nottingham and Sussex just to spend a few hours with them. I love what I’m doing, but it is intense – I don’t think I could do it for more than another five years at most.

The Pronunciation Coach, 50, from Leeds: £35,000

I feel a bit ashamed of my earnings. Given my age and responsibilities, it’s pretty low, to be honest. I work online doing

one-to-one pronunciation sessions with people who don’t speak English as a first language and create content they can use to learn to speak English well. I definitely feel I’m worth more than I’m earning for all the hours I put in.

I used to look at a salary like £35,000 and think: ‘Gosh, that’s loads.’ But my standard of living hasn’t improved in the three decades since I had my children, aged 28, 16 and 13.

The younger children’s bus fares alone are £80 a month and once all the bills and mortgage are paid, there’s nothing left over for fun stuff. I’m the primary earner at home; my husband (father to my two younger children) earns £15,000 per year. We certainly don’t go out for meals and we didn’t go on holiday this year, either.

We’re not choosing between food and heating, but I do feel frustrated at how little I have.

I remind myself that it’s worth earning a bit less for the flexibility I have working from home. I’ve never missed a school play or parents’ evening and don’t intend to.

A consultant growth strategist, earning £250,000, said that despite having experience no job is safe, so she has ‘spent the past year studying AI and digital transformation’ (posed by model)

The Part-Time Divorce Lawyer, 57, from Yorkshire: £80,000

I earn about £80,000 a year as a self-employed lawyer working three days a week.

Or at least I did. I’ve worked a lot less this year following my mother getting ill and then passing away. Thankfully, my clients were (mostly) very understanding.

I qualified as a lawyer in 2005, going to night school during my divorce while my two children were in their teens. As much as I love my job, the legal world has changed so much. There’s such a backlog in the system, court delays are inevitable and clients are more demanding and angry than ever.

At the moment, money definitely feels tight for the amount of work I’m putting in. Clients are slower to pay, so cash flow can be a problem. Usually I’d go away three or four times a year – the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Caribbean cruises – but this year we’ve not yet been on holiday and our next trip is a cheap and cheerful week in Egypt in November.

Compared to previous years, I’m finding that there is often a lot of month left at the end of my money, rather than money left at the end of the month.

The Farmer, 56, from Cheshire: £53,000

My husband and I have our own farm and glamping business. I don’t earn as much as I would have if I’d have stayed in my previous career in academia but running your own business is a lot more fulfilling, so it was worth the pay cut.

My husband’s income is more variable as it’s mainly from the farm, while I take mine mostly from the glamping business, which is more predictable.

We really have to be available 24/7 for emergencies. Often that’s the animals escaping or getting stuck somewhere, usually when it’s cold, dark and wet outside. There’s never money left over at the end of the month, but I do feel I am happy with my lot and that I live a good life in a beautiful place that we are in effect stewarding for the next generation.

The only thing I really spend money on is my horses.

I can’t imagine my husband or I ever fully retiring but perhaps we’ll do a bit less as time goes on. Hopefully our farm will be passed on to our two children.

The Part-Time Teacher, 51, from Hertfordshire: £31,000

A few years ago, I was working as a chief operating officer for a research firm earning around £62,000 per year. But during the pandemic I started to think there must be something other than this. Perhaps it was an urge to be back in the fray again.

That led me to retrain as a French teacher and I now work seven days per fortnight at a school. I’m enjoying just being in the classroom and working hard at being the best teacher I can be.

The job has challenged me in terms of the number of relationships you have to build and maintain – and my attitude to spending. On my old salary, I’d buy new clothes on a whim. Now, clearly, I have to budget but if I look at my overall household income, finances aren’t a big issue. I feel valued and I don’t feel poor.

Being part-time was a deliberate decision and has meant I can also be the chair of a charity alongside teaching, which I really enjoy. Life now feels a lot more rewarding.

The Digital Marketing Manager, 55, from London: £90,000

I’m in an interim role after being made redundant last October. That was a cold shower. I was happy in my old job and planned to stay on until I retired.

There was a six-month gap where I had no income at all. I applied (and am still applying) to 185 jobs and counting, which resulted in about ten interviews.

I don’t believe I’m paid what I’m worth or my salary is the right level given my experience. Yet I’ve been told to lower my years of experience on my CV – saying I have been in the industry for 15 years, not 20 – so as not to give away my age.

Through unemployment I learnt that I’m really not a massive spender; I don’t buy superficial things and still get my leggings from Vinted. Even so, my impulse spending has gone back up a little since having a salary again, including spending £600 on microneedling [a procedure to make the skin look more youthful].

I have a very decent base salary but it’s a bit of a false positive – I do 40 hours a week instead of the 35 I did before and have almost no benefits. If I consider the cost of all the things that were included previously, then I’m probably on a lot less than I was.

I’m lucky that my husband is freelance and works from home so he’s doing the school run for our 11-year-old and most of the chores while I’m at work.

Especially in our age bracket, having more flexibility is critical.