Study finds widening gender gap in wages among post-secondary graduates

Interesting study, with appropriately nuanced conclusions:

Eight years after graduating with university bachelor degrees in 2005, males were earning $27,300 more on average than females who graduated at the same time with the same degrees, says a comprehensive new study.

Among college graduates, the wage gender gap was almost as large — $23,600 — and even larger in percentage terms, according to the analysis done by the Education Policy Research Initiative (EPRI), a national research organization based at the University of Ottawa.

The study also debunked a common myth that some university programs have scant real-world value and prepare graduates for little more than low-paid jobs as baristas.

EPRI’s researchers linked student records for more than 620,000 graduates of the University of Ottawa and 13 other universities and colleges to income tax data between 2005 and 2013 to track their earnings. The study found that men who graduated from university in 2005 earned $2,800 more than women in their first year after graduation. By year eight, the earnings gap had widened to $27,300, meaning male graduates were earning 44 per cent more on average than female graduates.

The pattern held in all fields of study, though the gap was highest for graduates in business, engineering, social sciences and science & agriculture. It was smallest for humanities and fine arts graduates.  Women who graduated from health and humanities programs initially earned more than their male counterparts, but fell behind over time.

Among 2005 college diploma graduates, the gender wage gap was $5,500 in the first year. By year eight, men were earning 56 per cent more than female graduates, a gap of $23,600.

Further analysis could shed light on at least some of the complex reasons for the wage gap, said University of Ottawa professor Ross Finnie, EPRI’s director.

One might be that men and women are focusing on different things within the same broad area of study, and the areas that women choose don’t have as much earnings growth over time, Finnie said.

Another could be the life choices that men and women make, he said. For example, women are more likely to drop out of the workforce temporarily to have children, then work part-time afterward.

“They lose labour market experience and sometimes the labour market punishes people because of that.” And to some degree, “pure labour market discrimination” is likely part of the explanation as well, Finnie said. “It’s a combination of all those things.”

Source: Study finds widening gender gap in wages among post-secondary graduates