Yes, women outnumber men at university. But they still earn less after they leave

Female university graduates are expected to earn 27% less than their male counterparts – A$750,000 – over their career, a 2019 study found.

As COVID-19 has laid bare, there is strong undercurrent in our society of devaluing “women’s” work even though that work is essential to the successful running of an economy. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

And there’s the fact more women leave full-time work to bring up children. While the number of women staying in the workforce has increased in recent years thanks to a universal paid-parental leave scheme, at the age of 35 80% of men are engaged in the workforce full-time compared to only 40% of women.

Interestingly, the government’s proposed changes to tuition fee subsidies (with STEM courses costing less than most in the humanities) have attracted media attention in part because they look set to benefit men while negatively impacting women.

Women also have to contend with the gender pay gap, interrupted careers and fewer opportunities to enter leadership positions. Because they make the “choice” in a partnership to be the primary carer, women almost never make it up again financially when they go back into the workforce.

Source: Yes, women outnumber men at university. But they still earn less after they leave

3 thoughts on “Yes, women outnumber men at university. But they still earn less after they leave”

  1. Wondering what you recommend to change the income inequality. 40% of women are engaged in the workforce full-time at age 35, ok.
    It’s their “choice” the article says.

    Let’s assume for once these women generally prefer staying home to putting young children in childcare, even if it is available and cheap. Let’s assume they want to pick up their careers when their youngest is age five so say there’s a 10-year period when they aren’t part of the workforce. How equalize the pay of women and men at 45? Looking for solutions rather than more familiar data at this point.

  2. Wondering what you recommend to change the income inequality. 40% of women are engaged in the workforce full-time at age 35, ok.
    It’s their “choice” the article says.

    Let’s assume for once that these women generally prefer staying home to putting young children in childcare, even if it is available and cheap. Let’s assume they want to pick up their careers when their youngest is age five so say there’s a 10-year period when they aren’t part of the workforce. How equalize the pay of women and men at 45? Looking for solutions rather than more familiar data on the fact of women’s working gap-years at this point.

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