Study shows female graduates are set to earn 14% less than males

The pay gap is still visible.

Women are expected to earn less in their first graduate roles than their male counterparts, according to new studies. The salaries that women expect to earn after they graduate from university is much lower than what men expect to earn across different sectors. In new research carried out by Universum, they found that male law students expected to get a salary that is 14% higher than the estimated salary for women in the same position. They also found that there was an eight per cent disparity among graduates in business, economics and natural sciences. According to The Irish Times, this research included over 10,000 Irish students from October 2020 to March of this year, in varying sectors such as business, IT, health, engineering, natural sciences, humanities and law courses. While law graduates had the highest expected graduate salary, the research found that women's estimates averaged at €35,730 and men's at €41,758, when the expected starting salary overall is €38,702. When this study was last carried out, this gap was at 12%. This comes as large employers in Ireland will be legally asked to publish their gender data under new legislation. Universum business director Steve Ward says this disparity is "very concerning" and the gap "only becomes more pronounced as the two genders climb the career ladder and progress through the corporate world." He said: "The new gender pay legislation is a welcome step towards addressing this disparity. However, we would encourage employers to get ahead of this legislation and look at what steps they can take in the near future to ensure they’re part of the solution, and not part of the problem."