Are we really Equal?

What about the changing roles of men and women in society? What about the preconceptions of men toward women and visa versa? What about the moral implications of some of the questions I ask below?
How can we address the issue of sexual difference when we continue to make it an issue?

Equal pay: if a woman is found to be paid less than a man she can take action for sexual discrimination. If a man is being paid less than the next man for doing the same job, he leaves and looks for more money.
A friend of mine said that in her country, if you get more money than the next person, you obviously did better in the negotiations at interview. I thought this to be unfair as like work should receive like wages, irrespective of sex or any other difference. The fundamental problem with this system came about when a man was offered a like job to my friend’s and he got more money, although he has no university degree as she does. I told her that he obviously did better at the negotiations at interview, but she complained about the unfairness of the system. She cannot argue her point about negotiating a deal at the interview stage if she then deems the process unfair because someone is paid more than her for like work. 

Women traditionally live longer than men. Is this due to the old values of men being the bread winners and therefore exerting more stress upon themselves, leading them to an earlier grave than their spouse? In bygone days, this may have been true as the lady of the house stayed at home whilst the man earned the crust. 
In today’s society, will we see women and men having a similar longevity due to the changing practices of women in the workplace and their increasing responsibilities leading them to early graves?

More and more men are subjected to spousal abuse, but society still plays this act down due to the perception of the “stronger” man allowing the woman to manipulate and control him in such a way. Women scorn men who attack their wives but laugh when it is the other way around. In today’s world of equality, if a woman physically attacks a man, society still decrees you should never hit a woman. Why, if a woman punches you in the mouth can you not punch her back? The argument is always the same: they say men are stronger and it is this strength which has a bearing on the moral implications of the strong man inflicting damage to the weaker female. If a man in a pub hits you and you know you are physically stronger, do you just keep on letting him hit you? Of course not. You protect yourself either by restraining or retaliating in a like fashion.
This comes down to personal boundaries and to something I mentioned at the bottom of another page. Just because I feel it would be wrong for me to hit a woman, or indeed, anyone I perceive to be weaker than me, does not mean the next person will feel the same. If a woman hit me in a bar, I would simply stop her from doing it again. If a man hit me, I would retaliate. I consider myself to be a competent fighter as I have been practicing a martial art for many years. This has only a small bearing on my thoughts for this argument. My friend says he would feel completely in the right if he retaliated against a woman. He doesn’t see it as a weak v. strong argument. He sees it as a moral stance from the beginning: you do not do something to someone that you would not want done to you. Very biblical!

I have other things to add, so watch this space.