Early-career Ohio women earn less, study blames job segregation

By Farah Siddiqi

New research finds women with bachelor’s degrees earn about 18% less than their male counterparts, even a few years after graduating.

The trend is reflected in Ohio, where data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research show college-educated women make around 82 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Mary Gatta, director of research and public policy for the National Association of Colleges and Employers, said it is often about the kinds of jobs men and women are guided into.

"Some of that, as we see in our survey, is attributed to men and women working in different industries and different types of work," Gatta explained. "We called it 'occupational sex segregation.'"

The Early Career Talent Survey interviewed 1,400 professionals nationwide, including from Ohio, who graduated between 2017 and 2023. Women reported more financial pressure from student loan debt and less confidence in repaying it, compared to men.

Although women reported similar career satisfaction levels as the men surveyed, they remain underrepresented in private-sector jobs typically offering higher pay. Nearly one-third of women work in nonprofits, where compensation is typically lower.

Gatta pointed out the long-term effects of lower pay go beyond early-career earnings.

"The pay gap continues as women continue in their careers, with less money they are paying into Social Security, it's less money they're putting into their retirement," Gatta outlined. "It has immediate impacts around economic security but also economic security as we age."

Nearly three-quarters of the men surveyed work for private-sector companies, while just over half of women do. Gatta argued it is important for women to be introduced to other options, like STEM-related careers, at an earlier age to help them explore more nontraditional roles.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.