Women get bigger wage boost from university than men
Women who go to university typically earn around three times as much as those who did not gain a degree, according to new research.
It suggests that there is a more significant earnings premium for university-educated women than for men.
The study, by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), Cambridge University and Harvard University looked at tax data and student loan records for more than 260,000 graduates for up to 10 years after they completed their studies.
It concludes that the typical earnings of an English woman a decade after graduation was just over three times that of non-graduates, whereas university-educated men earned around twice as much as those without a degree.
The study goes on to say that the recent recession did have a large impact on the wages of people in their 20s and 30s, with women in particular seeing lower salaries.
But it adds that graduates did fare better during this period saying that the fall in earnings "are proportionally bigger for non-graduates than for graduates, suggesting higher education provided some protection from this major economic shock".
A breakdown of the results does indicate a general gender gap.
For example, 10 years after gaining a degree, 10% of male graduates were taking home more than £55,000 a year, 5% were earning more than £73,000 and 1% more than £148,000.
Among graduate women, at the same point, 10% were on more than £43,000 a year, five percent were earning more than £54,000 a year and one percent more than £89,000.
The report also suggests that there is less gender inequality among graduate wages than other data has previously indicated.
It concludes that the annual earnings gap between men and women 10 years after graduation is around 23%, adding that separate figures from the Labour Force Survey have put it at around 33%.
Jack Britton, IFS research economist and one of the report authors, said: "This study shows the value of a degree, in terms of providing protection from low income and shielding graduates from some of the negative impact of the recent recession on their wages. We find this to be particularly true for women."
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK said: "This report gives us a broadly accurate picture of what graduates earn. It shows that UK graduates continue to earn substantially more than non-graduates over a working lifetime. It reveals also that during the recession, graduates fared better than non-graduates."
She added: "Although the research revealed that median earnings of English women around 10 years after graduation are substantially higher than their non-graduate counterparts, there is still a significant gap between the earnings of male and female graduates. This is something that needs to be looked at and addressed."
Universities Minister Jo Johnson said:"Our reforms aim to ensure we preserve a return for all students from their investment in higher education.
"This valuable study reflects the need that more must be done to improve data on graduate outcomes and strengthen incentives for high quality university teaching."
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