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Early Career Gender Wage Gap in STEM: New Evidence from Administrative Data
Increasing female representation in technical majors, traditionally associated with high earnings, is recognised as a mechanism for promoting gender equality in the labour market. However, if women quit STEM soon after graduation, increasing their proportion in relevant disciplines will not help reduce the gender wage gap. This paper provides new evidence of the ‘leaky pipeline’ of women in STEM. Using nationwide administrative data from Russia, it explores recent graduates of 2022 and analyses their educational characteristics, experience of combining study and work, enrolment in postgraduate programmes, and job acquisition one year after graduation.
The results suggest that women are less likely to pursue postgraduate education or to work in STEM-related jobs while at university. One year after graduation, women with STEM degrees are 6 percentage points less likely than men to enter STEM positions as their first post-graduation jobs. Combining study and work in STEM jobs is one of the most significant contributors to the probability of STEM employment after graduation. The highest gender wage gap at career entry is observed among STEM majors employed in STEM jobs (18%), with only about half of this gap explained by observed characteristics. Among non-STEM graduates employed in non-STEM jobs, the gap is statistically insignificant. Among those employed in high-paying technical industries, women experience lower returns to academic excellence and ability.
The results signal not merely gender segregation in STEM education but also implicit gender discrimination in STEM employment, challenging the ability of higher education to promote gender equality in pay.