Why Women Grads Still Make Less Than Men

Many in the past have attributed male-female wage inequalities to underpaid older women from previous generations. Many hoped the gap would narrow as those women retired, but it turns out it may not be that simple.

A study by the Center on Education Workforce at Georgetown University suggests that women are self-selecting lower-paying professions by choosing college majors that simply do not pay much. To compound that, women also make less than men who work in the same field, which suggests that a reluctance to negotiate salary may be to blame.

The study used previously unreported 2009 census data by sampling 3 million college graduates between the ages of 25 and 64 who supplied their majors and subsequent earnings. 

Women attend college in greater numbers than men (roughly 55-45% at UC Davis) and they also out-graduate them. But the highest earning majors are still dominated by males. 

Read one 22-year-woman’s story in this Huffington Post College article and see why entry-level employees should consider negotiating their salary, even when the job market is in bad shape.