How the pay gap between male and female grads grows after graduation

Find out which subjects have the greatest differences between male and female pay growth.

The 2019 Gender Pay Gap data deadline is fast approaching (its 4^th April to be precise). With our commitment to understanding this issue, we wanted to see how yesterday’s release of graduate pay data can help us look at how the pay gap changes in the years following graduation.

Here are nine facts from the data release on the post-university pay gap, by degree subject and gender:

In summary:

• Men’s salaries increase by more than women’s between 5 and 10 years after graduation, in all subject areas
• In some areas, women’s median salaries actually reduce between 5 and 10 post-graduation, potentially due to a move towards part-time working or other factors

5 years after graduating:

• Male and female English and communications graduates have roughly the same pay 5 years after graduating, but…
• For all other subject areas, men are already earning more
• Engineering, architecture, building & planning, computing and nursing graduates have the biggest gender gaps after 5 years

10 years after graduating:

• Men are earning more than women in all subject areas 10 years after graduating
• The biggest gap between male and female pay change is for medicine and dentistry graduates. The median man’s salary increases by £14,800 over five years while the woman’s drops by £2,600. After 10 years the difference between the two is vast – £17,400. Is this a particular issue with part-time work for female doctors and dentists or diverging career paths?
• Nursing has the smallest pay growth difference a decade post-graduation – an £800 gender difference
• The subjects where the median woman’s salary increases the most between 5 and 10 years after graduation are economics and law – but in both cases at a far lower rate than the man’s median

There you have it. Women earn less than men 5 years after graduation and the gap grows further in the following 5 years.

The question is why?

To read more on the subject click here.

Find out how women working within our schools fair – take a look at our article on The Gap Years: Understanding the median Gender Pay Gap and infographic.

Contributor: Steve Preston

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