Earnings gap between men and women graduates grows to €125 per week

The earnings gap between men and women continues to grow years after they graduate, a study has found (Chris Ison/PA)

The earnings gap between male and female graduates grew to €125 per week after 10 years, according to figures published on Monday.

The average earnings among all graduates from 2010 increased from €425 per week in the first year after graduation, to €660 after five years and €960 after 10.

While the median weekly earnings remained similar between male and female graduates for the first five years, male graduates earned €15 per week more than female graduates after that point.

However, after 10 years, male graduates were earning €1,040 per week compared to female graduates earning €915 per week —  a €125 difference.

The findings were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its Higher Education Outcomes – Graduation Years 2010-2019, in collaboration with the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

PUP

The report also highlighted that more than a quarter of 2019 graduates were in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) for a period in the following year.

For 2019 graduates, they faced significant restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 27% being in receipt of the PUP at some point in the year.

Female graduates were more likely to receive the PUP compared to male graduates, with 29% of women compared to 26% of men.

However, approximate 80% of graduates from the same year reported being in "substantial employment" within the first year, compared to 83% of 2018 graduates.

Graduates from information and communication technologies in 2010 had the highest median earnings 10 years after graduation, earning €1,165 per week

Graduates from Dublin City University and University College Dublin in 2010 had the highest median earnings 10 years after graduating, earning €1,140 and €1,115 per week respectively.

Around 29% of graduates chose to re-enrol in higher education the following year, compared to just 26% in the previous year's figures, but still fewer than 33% in 2010.

The number of graduates who were in "neither employment nor education" increased slightly from 6% to 7%, but remains less than the 2010 figure of 12%.

Favoured industries

The most popular industry for new graduates in 2019 was professional and scientific activities, followed by wholesale and retail, health, and education.

More than half of graduates in employment were working in one of these industries in their first year after graduation.

Dr Alan Wall, CEO of the HEA welcomed the report, saying it provides "crucial new insights" into the effect of the stong pandemic restrictions on recent graduates.

"In addition, a 10-year post-graduation longitudinal picture allows us to see further into activities of graduates as they establish their career paths.

"The availability of open data through the PxStat service gives access to a wealth of data which underpins the evidence base on graduate outcomes and complements HEA’s national Graduate Outcomes Survey.”

Kieran Culhane, senior statistician, said: “This report was produced in collaboration with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and is an example of the policy-relevant research projects the CSO is developing as part of the CSO’s leadership role of the Irish Statistical System.

“This project was carried out using a statistical framework known as the Educational Longitudinal Database (ELD) developed by the CSO.

“This framework is produced by matching datasets from the education sector to other public sector datasets which describe graduate outcomes in subsequent years.”