CHOICE OF FIELD OF STUDY AND WAGE OF INSERTION. ARE THERE GENDER DIFFERENCES?

This paper analyzes the relationship between fields of study, wage and gender, in order to determine the causal relationship between them. We have used data from the survey made by the AQU (Agència per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya) in 2017 on the insertion of recent university graduates from Catalonia (Spain). The quantitative analysis has been carried out by statistical exploitation of the survey through frequency and contingency tables. Degrees have been classified as masculinized and feminized, according to the percentage of men and women graduated in each case, in relation to the percentage of total graduates of each sex. The results show three relevant aspects. First, from an aggregate perspective, there is evidence of a gender wage gap, with a higher proportion of women in the lowest wage levels and a higher proportion of men among the highest wage levels; being the threshold between both the salary level of 24,000 euros per year. Second, the statistical analysis shows the existence of gender segregation by field of study, so that clearly masculinized and feminized fields of study can be distinguished: for example, engineering is clearly masculinized, while health sciences and education are feminized. Thirdly, there are salary differences by fields of study, which seem to be associated with the masculinized or feminized nature of the field of study: feminized degrees have a higher percentage of individuals in the lowest salary sections while masculinized degrees concentrate the sections of higher salaries. In conclusion, the existence of gender pay differences is related, on the one hand, with gender discrimination itself and, on the other hand, with the choice of field of study.