Gender differences in the early career earnings of economics graduates

In contrast to the UK, the USA and Germany, the majority of university students in economics in France are female. Using a national survey of three cohorts of French university graduates in economics, we find a significant raw differential in favour of men in both starting pay and earnings three years after graduation, and the latter is wider than the former. Gender differences in occupation suggest that female economics graduates are under-represented in technical roles where two in five male graduates are found. When occupation and sector are included as controls in an Oaxaca decomposition, two thirds of the gender differential in earnings in 2013 remain unexplained.