News release

Women Earn Less Among Maritime University Graduates

Maritime Provinces Higher Education

MARITIME PROVINCES HIGHER EDUCATION--Women Earn Less Among Maritime University Graduates


Two years after graduation, female university graduates working full-time hours earned 78 per cent of the weekly wages of male graduates, says an article released today, March 23, by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.

Even after controlling for differences in field of study, occupation, province/country of residence, and number of hours worked per week, the wage gap attributable to gender alone was still three to 10 per cent, says The Gender Gap in Employment Outcomes of University Graduates, the latest article in the commission's Trends in Maritime Higher Education series.

"We conducted this analysis to identify the factors contributing to this gap. What we found was that much of this wage gap may be explained by underlying factors such as the different choices men and women made in field of study, which, in turn, influenced occupational choices, and therefore earnings," said Mireille Duguay, commission CEO.

"It's true that on average, a university education means greater earnings, particularly for women. However, our analysis confirms that even among university graduates, women still earn less than men," said Ms. Duguay.

The report also found that while men and women were equally likely to be employed, women were somewhat less likely to be employed full-time or to have a permanent position. Ms. Duguay said that, again, field of study played an important role in job status differences. Women are under-represented in some of the more professionally oriented or applied fields of study, such as engineering and applied sciences, mathematics and physical sciences. Fields such as these are associated with a greater likelihood of full-time and permanent employment.

The article, based on data from the commission's Survey of 1999 Maritime University Graduates in 2001, explored the impact of gender on a set of employment outcomes, including labour force attachment, job status, job quality and earnings. The survey involved graduates who had completed their first bachelor's degree in 1999, and were employed two years after graduation.

The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission was established in 1974. Its mission is to assist institutions and governments in enhancing the post-secondary learning environment. The commission's 19 members are drawn from the Maritime provinces and represent higher education institutions, provincial governments and the general public.

The article is available on the website at www2.mphec.ca/english/pdfs/TrendsV32004E.pdf .