A new study of nearly 4000 British matrics, in all types of schools, has found girls are limiting their career options right at the start by going for low-paying jobs. This is while boys hunt down roles that promise fat wads of cash, buoyed by confidence that has deserted the girls, despite their grades.Oxford University has been investigating the pay gap between men and women directly after college and university - a long way off the baby-making years.They have discovered by the time girls are teenagers they are internalising gender stereotypes that end up dictating the rest of their lives.Invisible cultural forces mean boys are still seen and see themselves as breadwinners, capable of tough jobs. And many girls are shying away from apparently hostile working environments despite the financial spoils.But boys who might not want to be bankers, accountants or strategy consultants are grinning and bearing it. It is all very well bleating on about the need for gender equality. If men are not free to follow their dreams and the undemanding jobs, where is the parity?Western societies no longer allow for single-income households. Most heterosexual couples have to work, but the expectation remains that men will be the principal breadwinners even if it places them under pressure.So what to do?It's not easy, but girls must grit their teeth and override these unspoken gender stereotypes, with the same iron will that secures them straight As. Their men's mental health and future mortgages are counting on it...