Unfortunately, despite widespread awareness, change and overall progression towards equal pay for both men and women in the UK, there remains a noticeably large gender pay gap amongst university graduates, with the most recent Government pay data revealing that males earn £1,600 more than women do one year after graduating and that this rises to £3,600 after five years and £8,400 after ten.
We wanted to know, however, which institutions and degrees have the largest disparity between graduate earnings for men and women?
Which Degree Subjects Have the Largest & Smallest Gender Pay Gap?
The data we analysed shows that the gender pay gap is the widest for those studying medicine and dentistry, with men earning around £63,300 ten years after graduation, compared to £43,200 for women, a huge difference of £20,400.
Other subjects with worryingly high disparity include combined and general studies (a gap of £11,400), veterinary sciences (£9,400) and business and management (£9,000).
The degree subjects with the largest gender pay gap…
| Subject | Male Average Earnings | Female Average Earnings | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine and dentistry | £63,600 | £43,200 | £20,400 |
| Combined and general studies | £32,300 | £20,900 | £11,400 |
| Veterinary sciences | £38,900 | £29,500 | £9,400 |
| Business and management | £36,900 | £27,900 | £9,000 |
| Architecture, building and planning | £39,500 | £30,700 | £8,800 |
| Law | £40,00 | £31,300 | £8,700 |
| Computing | £35,700 | £27,200 | £8,500 |
| Technology | £34,100 | £25,800 | £8,300 |
| Education and teaching | £32,800 | £24,500 | £8,300 |
Subjects allied to medicine not otherwise specified | £34,400 | £26,40 | £8,000 |
On the other hand, the subjects with the smallest pay gap after ten years were communications (£3,300), health and social care (£4,200), English studies and Philosophy and religious studies (both £4,400), however, all still show a substantial difference in earnings.
The degree subjects with the smallest gender pay gap…
| Subject | Male Average Earnings | Female Average Earnings | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communications and media | £28,700 | £25,400 | £3,300 |
| Health and social care | £30,300 | £26,100 | £4,200 |
| English studies | £31,100 | £26,700 | £4,400 |
| Philosophy and religious studies | £32,800 | £28,40 | £4,400 |
| Creative arts and design | £26,200 | £21,300 | £4,900 |
| Nursing | £34,800 | £29,700 | £5,100 |
| Chemistry | £36,900 | £31,800 | £5,100 |
| Politics | £36,800 | £31,100 | £5,700 |
| Economics | £51,600 | £45,700 | £5,900 |
| Physics and astronomy | £41,000 | £34,900 | £6,100 |
Which Universities Have the Largest Gender Pay Gap?
Whilst the official graduate earnings data broken down by university differs slightly to that for degree subjects, in that it showcases the earnings of graduates once they reach 29 years of age, the fact remains that this still shows a worryingly large gender gap at most institutions.
Stirling University in Scotland has the largest disparity, with male graduates earning £37,700, compared to £25,200 for females, a difference of £12,500, followed by the Royal Agricultural University (£11,100 higher for men) and the University of Warwick (£11,000 higher for men).
The universities with the largest gender pay gap…
| University | Male Average Earnings | Female Average Earnings | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Stirling | £37,700 | £25,200 | £12,500 |
| Royal Agricultural University | £40,300 | £29,200 | £11,100 |
| The University of Warwick | £50,400 | £39,40 | £11,000 |
| The University of St Andrews | £45,100 | £34,200 | £10,900 |
| City, University of London | £43,100 | £33,400 | £9,700 |
| The University of Dundee | £40,500 | £30,900 | £9,600 |
| University of Durham | £47,600 | £38,400 | £9,200 |
| Oxford Brookes University | £39,700 | £30,700 | £9,000 |
| The University of York | £43,900 | £35,200 | £8,700 |
| The University of Cambridge | £51,600 | £43,00 | £8,600 |
However, there are four universities where female graduates earn more than men (the Royal Veterinary College, University of West London, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Ravensbourne University), as well as several others where the gap is only a couple of hundred pounds.
The universities where female average earnings are higher…
| University | Male Average Earnings | Female Average Earnings | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Royal Veterinary College | £31,200 | £35,400 | -£4,200 |
| The University of West London | £24,100 | £26,100 | -£2,000 |
| The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | £23,200 | £24,900 | -£1,700 |
| Ravensbourne University London | £30,200 | £30,800 | -£600 |
The universities with the smallest gender pay gap…
| University | Male Average Earnings | Female Average Earnings | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arts University Bournemouth | £25,400 | £25,000 | £400 |
| Norwich University of the Arts | £22,200 | £21,700 | £500 |
| University of the Arts, London | £28,500 | £27,500 | £1,000 |
| London South Bank University | £26,200 | £25,000 | £1,200 |
| Goldsmiths College | £29,600 | £28,100 | £1,500 |
| Newman University | £28,200 | £26,400 | £1,800 |
How Do Earnings Change Over Time?
Lastly, our research reveals that, while the gender pay gap perhaps isn’t quite so large straight after graduation, it certainly widens over time.
On average, men earn around £20,900 one year after graduating from university, compared to £19,300 for women, a gap of £1,600.
However, this gap increases by 56% three years after graduation, 125% after five years and 425% after ten years.
| 1 Year After Graduation | 3 Years After Graduation | 5 Years After Graduation | 10 Years After Graduation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male Average Earnings | £20,900 | £24,900 | £28,300 | £35,300 |
| Female Average Earnings | £19,300 | £22,400 | £24,700 | £26,900 |
| Difference | £1,600 | £2,500 | £3,600 | £8,400 |
Methodology
By Degree
Sourced from the Government’s ‘Graduate outcomes (LEO): outcomes in 2016 to 2017’ dataset (Table 5). All figures relate to the median earnings of students who graduated in 2005/06 for the 2016/17 tax year.
By University
Sourced from the Government’s ‘Undergraduate degrees: labour market returns’ dataset (Table 15). All figures relate to median earnings at age 29 for the 2015/16 tax year.
