The Impact of Gender Inequality on Early Career Professionals

BETHLEHEM, PA—Recent research conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) answers key questions related to gender outcomes among college early career professionals.

Prominent in NACE’s findings from its Early Career Talent Survey—which included graduates who earned their bachelor’s degree within the last one to seven years and work full time—is the fact that women experience a sizable gender pay gap: The average pay for women stood at $63,822, while men earned an average of $78,114.

At least some of that pay gap points to occupational sex segregation, according to Shawn VanDerziel, NACE president and chief executive officer.

“Men and women are in different types of work and industries that offer different labor market rewards,” he says. “In addition, almost three-quarters of men who took part in our survey are employed in a private-sector company or corporation, while slightly more than 50% of women are.”

Instead, says VanDerziel, “Among the women taking part, 30% work for a nonprofit, where pay tends to be lower than in the private sector. In contrast, 15% of men work for a nonprofit.”

NACE’s Early Career Talent Survey also found that women were slightly more likely than men to report using student loans to pay for college and a larger percentage of women were not confident they would be able to pay off their student loans compared to men.

“Because women tend to be in lower-paying industries and the pay gap remains steady over the early years of their career, women have less income to dedicate to paying down debt, including the student loans they take out to pay for college,” VanDerziel says.

Despite these disparities, there is very little difference in the self-reported career satisfaction among early career professionals by gender. In addition, men and women share relatively equal views about the speed of their career progression, although there are differences in the factors they believe have affected that progression.

In particular, “women were much more likely than men to point to the lack of such a degree as contributing to a slower progression,” VanDerziel says.

Additional results are available in “Early Career Talent and the Effects of Gender.”

About the Early Career Talent Survey: NACE conducted a survey of early career professionals who graduated with an undergraduate degree in the last 10 years (2014 through 2023). The survey covered a range of career development topics, including their early career experiences and their perceptions around their careers.

Data were collected from August 21, 2024, to December 1, 2024. NACE sent the survey to NACE members at 2,761 colleges and employer organizations; the members then distributed the survey to their alumni and early career employees. Participants were offered a cash incentive and were encouraged to send the survey to their early career colleagues. Overall, a total of 5,031 individuals who fit the requisite time frame took part; of these 1,441 were professionals who achieved their bachelor’s degree within the last one to seven years—2017 through 2023—and were employed full time. Of these, 519 were men and 922 were women. The data presented reflect those responses. As nearly all questions were optional, response rates vary for each question.

About the National Association of Colleges and Employers: Established in 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is the only professional association in the United States that connects more than 13,000 college career services professionals, more than 3,800 early career talent acquisition professionals, and more than 400 business solution providers that serve this community.

NACE is the premier source of market research on career readiness, the employment of recent college graduates, and the college-to-career transition. NACE forecasts hiring and trends in the job market; tracks salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes; and identifies best practices and benchmarks.

NACE offers its members unparalleled research, networking and professional development opportunities, guidance on standards and ethics, and advocacy on key issues. For more information, visit www.naceweb.org. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media.