I had a friend who worked on the ramp at SFO. Saw him real shook up after work, said he saw a coworker drive one of their carts under a plane while looking elsewhere- and got his head cut off.
It's a very physical job with a lot of powerful machines.
The fallacy (...ish) in these conversations is that men and women always work the same types of jobs. Which you pretty much just admit isn't really the case, which your "teaching and nursing" comment.
Ultimately, it turns out, men have a combination of typically choosing higher-paid careers and also being more demanding in terms of compensation. At the end of the day I can't hold a gun to women's heads and make them become engineers. If they want to be teachers, then so be it.
But wait! That doesn't mean that there isn't discrimination at play. Because typically jobs that are predominantly women are lower paid. It's complex, because:
1. Typically, there ARE some value/toughness differences in the job. Being a nurse is "easier" than being a doctor. But how much? Are we certain we're dividing the pay equitably?
2. While men have these higher paying jobs more, men aren't more educated. At least, not anymore. What could be the factors leading women to receive education in fields that are less economically viable?
Also, while there is a pay gap, this isn't the only gender gap. Clearly, job distribution across gender is very complicated. For example, men make up 97% of workplace deaths. Why do men choose these jobs more? Is it biological, social, economic, or all three?
If dangerous jobs are paid more, what does that have to do with the gender pay gap?
And, let's face it, two of the most dangerous jobs around at the moment are teaching and nursing, both of which are predominately done by women.