If you want to discuss definition in the formal sense, it suffices to say “that is not the definition of wage theft here it is bla bla”. Instead when you say “Wait, what? they are entirely different you insane lunatic” most reasonable people will think that you are completely against even using the two concepts in the same sentence. As an example someone says “Donald Trump is a champion of democracy” and I say “Wait, what? Are you insane? Donald trump and democracy are entirely unrelated”.
If you want to only specify gender then that is the correct word to use. If someone wants to be derogative towards a certain group, the said person can twist the context of almost every known word so that it sounds rude and disrespectful. Does not mean everyone else should stop using that word in the correct context. I don’t know what else to say.