Female graduates in some subjects earn more than men, shows US study

Women in the US earn about the same as or more than their male counterparts after graduating from college—but fall behind later in their careers, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The analysis shows that in the early stage of their careers (around age 22–27), women with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of 97 cents for every dollar earned by male graduates in the same age group, compared to a national average of 82 cents. Among graduates in certain subjects (including engineering, business, and philosophy), women tend to earn more than their male peers.

However, by the middle stage of their careers (age 35–45), women only earn an average of 85 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The research also shows that, by this age, men tend to earn more than women regardless of degree subject.

The authors of the study, Jaison R. Abel and Richard Deitz, suggest the reason for the changes in pay gap over time may be because gender discrimination is more widespread among older employees, or because of conflict between family and work commitments.

IZA World of Labor author Solomon Polachek has written about equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap in developed countries. Noting that the evidence shows the gender gap is decreasing in most countries due to demographic changes, he writes that: “effective policies to speed up wage convergence should involve government actions to stimulate a further rise in women’s lifetime work, such as eradicating taxes that decrease wives’ incentives to work.”

Read more on this story at the Washington Post.

Related articles:
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap by Solomon W. Polachek
Wage compression and the gender pay gap by Lawrence M. Kahn

Find more IZA World of Labor articles about gender here