A Gender Pay Gap for Recent College Graduates

The American Association of University Women recently released a new study showing that the gender gap in wages materializes for women who are just one year out of college. The study found that one year after women graduate from college they earn 82 cents on the dollar compared to men who had recently completed college. It is true that men tend to graduate with college majors such as engineering that will lead to jobs with higher pay. The authors recognize this fact but note that the pay gap exists “between men and women who majored in the same field.”

The authors also note that men tended to work longer hours than women and that men tend to secure jobs in higher paying sectors of the economy. Yet the authors conclude, “When we control for each of these factors, women still tended to earn less than their male peers did.” The AAUW data shows that for women and men who went to the same university, majored in the same field, took similar jobs, and worked the same hours, women still earned 7 percent less than men. As a result, the authors conclude that gender discrimination likely plays a role.

The report also states that for all full-time workers regardless of educational level, women are paid 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. The study found that at least one third of the pay gap can not be accounted for by differences in education or employment status.

The report, Graduating to a Pay Gap: The Earnings of Men and Women One Year After College Graduation, can be downloaded here.