As much as society has progressed, it is disheartening to know that women still struggle to earn the same salaries as men.
IMG: Encarni Tan taken by Aaron Rao
In recent studies, female graduates are more likely to find jobs after they leave university than their male peers, but those men who do find work enjoy higher starting salaries.
While nearly three-quarters of women who graduated last summer had found full- or part-time jobs within six months of leaving university, just 71% of men had done the same. Some 8% of male graduates said they were unemployed at the time of the survey, compared with just 6% of women.
But the survey found that men were more likely to be employed in professional jobs and on average received higher starting salaries: US$31,000 for men, compared with US$29,000 for women.
Digging in deeper, pun intended, gender pay disparity widened higher up the income scale: while more than 10% of male graduates earned annual salaries of US$45,000 to US$55,000 in their first jobs, only half the number of women earned the same amount.
Over the last five years, LST studies found that men gaining a first class degree received 6% higher wages while women with first class degrees reported no significant gains. Must suck knowing that all those efforts in achieving that first class honours meant nothing.
If you are a dropout, and happen to be female, brace yourself. While male dropouts earn approximately the same as those who never attended college, the same can't be said for women. Dropping out of college can be worse than not attending in the first place.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that hard work is always rewarded. Graduates who can differentiate themselves from the pack will gain an edge. This reflects differences in ability, and of course productivity.
Remember this though, just because you have the talent, does not always mean you need to show it immediately. Show just enough to get you the job, then take the time you need to know who to impress (its not always your supervisor). In todays world, its fair game once you get in. There's no telling why you can't one day become the boss of your boss.
The key, impress the right people, tick the right boxes, at the right time.