Men earn 14% more than women within five years of leaving university, with female graduates falling behind their male peers despite holding the same qualifications.
Analysis by the Financial Times of Department for Education figures reveals that women in the UK see their earnings trail men’s almost immediately after entering the workforce, even when completing identical courses. On average, male graduates take home £34,700 five years after graduation – 14.1% higher than the £30,400 earned by women.
Although earlier studies highlighted subject selection as the main driver of the pay gap, the data also indicates that men are more likely to pursue higher-paying careers. For example, male maths graduates frequently move into computer programming, where average earnings reach £49,600 five years after graduating, whereas female maths graduates most often go into teaching, where salaries average £34,300.
The analysis reveals that male graduates earned more than women in 29 of 35 subject groups. The widest gap was in architecture, where men earned 19% more (£6,200) five years after graduating. Within individual courses, the disparity can be starker: men graduating in psychology from Durham University in 2017 earned 64% more than their female peers five years later.
Even in STEM fields, women are more likely to enter lower-paid roles such as teaching, while men often move into IT, finance, or other higher-paying careers. Similar patterns are seen in business and management, where men disproportionately enter finance and IT, while women gravitate towards retail, health and social care, or teaching.
Sheila Flavell CBE, COO of FDM Group, commented: “This research shows that something must be done to tackle the gender pay gap from the very start of women’s careers. It is unacceptable that female graduates are falling behind their male peers, even when they study the same subjects. At FDM, our latest Gender Pay Gap report shows a result of -1.7 per cent, supported by initiatives such as our Returners Programme and female-only tech bootcamps that help close the gap.”
“Businesses must take the lead in closing this gap by prioritising upskilling and providing the right training and career progression opportunities for women. As AI becomes more integral to business operations, empowering women with the right skills and support is crucial. In order to build a stronger, more competitive tech sector, organisations must ensure women are at the forefront of the industry’s future.”
Experts note that this early-career gap occurs despite Office for National Statistics data showing little difference in pay under the age of 30 in the wider workforce.
Xiaowei Xu, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, explained that “the biggest difference is at the very top” of the pay scale, reflecting a reversal of historic patterns where gaps were widest among less-qualified workers.
Other factors contribute to the disparity, men are more motivated by pay, more aggressive in job applications, and willing to switch roles for better offers.
Additionally, AI may alter future earnings, with men more likely to occupy AI-exposed, higher-paying roles such as software development and financial advising, while women dominate lower-paid, lower-AI-risk fields such as nursing and teaching.
