Actress Kate Winslet is the latest to weigh in on the gender pay gap… only she isn’t complaining about being paid less than her male counterparts. Instead, Winslet is bringing a touch of etiquette into the debate.

As the BBC reports:

“‘I’m having such a problem with these conversations,’ Kate tells Newsbeat.

‘I understand why they are coming up but maybe it’s a British thing. I don’t like talking about money; it’s a bit vulgar isn’t it?’”

Ms. Winslet doesn’t feel she is the victim of sexism and is quite content with her workplace role. She does, however, find it difficult to juggle home and family responsibilities, and thus she especially appreciates the flexibility her job offers:

“‘I get down time and I also get to choose,’ she says.

‘As a woman, for me, that’s huge because obviously I want to have time with my children and I get plenty of it so I do feel very lucky.’”

Ms. Winslet is like many other women in this respect, for according to an official report prepared for the Department of Labor, “Women, especially working mothers, tend to value ‘family friendly’ workplace policies more than men.” The desire and interest in family often leads women to work fewer hours or in lower-paying occupations. According to the report, if these variables were taken away, the gender pay gap would barely amount to anything.

Is Ms. Winslet on to something? Is it a bit impolite to continually discuss the salaries of such-and-such or so-and-so? Like Ms. Winslet, would we be more content with our situation in life if we refrained from continually comparing our earnings with those of others?

Image Credit: Nex