Girls who study in classes which have a greater amount of girls than boys in the early years of their education are more likely to gain greater financial and professional success later in life. That’s according to research from Durham University Business School which carried out an investigation which looked at how the gender composition of primary school classes can effect labour equality later in life. The investigation mainly focused on the long term career prospects for women and in turn focused in on how the different findings affected the gender pay gap nation wide.

The study was mainly undertaken by Dr Demid Getik, alongside Dr Armando Meier who looked in to the different aspects of the topic in great detail. They discovered a number of subjective findings which can in turn drastically effect the career prospects for people of different genders which can change the way the economy runs.

“Whilst women routinely achieve a higher level of educational attainment in developed countries, a significant gender wage gap persists, with over 70% unexplained by traditional factors like education,” says Dr Getik.

“Our study focuses on this disconnect between academic achievement and career success, investigating whether early gender socialisation – specifically exposure to more female peers during critical ages of six to 16 – might help to explain and redress this gap.”

Both academics analysed data from the Swedish register of around seven hundred thousand students who were attending primary school in the country between 1989 and 2002. They then matched the data collected to the findings of different students when they reached the age of thirty years of age.

Analysis of the data links the different findings with the number of different female students and the particular college subjects they chose to continue with for their future careers. This helped to connect with different jobs and their earnings after they graduated.

The data revealed that girls who were part of a predominantly female class during school earned more, on average, leading to a reduction in the gender pay gap.

For example, changing from a 45 percent female to a 55 percent female cohort led to a $354 increase (based on exchange rates at the time of the study) in the annual earnings of women by the age of 30, equivalent to a 2.7 percent reduction in the gender wage gap.

Looking long-term, the researchers predicted that lifetime earnings could be as much as $12,390 higher for women exposed to a 10 female hike in their school classrooms.

The researchers state that their work offers important lessons for industry and wider society when it comes to readressing gender bias in the workplace and eradicating the pay gap that can unfairly penalise women.

But balance is advised to ensure that boys’ development is not hindered as a consequence. Whilst girls – then women – were found to benefit from greater female support and visibility, boys – then men – can be affected negatively when women dominate.

In April 2024 the UK gender pay gap was 13.1% for all employees and 7.0% for full-time staff. (source: ONS UK Gender Pay Gap 2024)

• Regional data from ONS shows that the gender pay gap in all English regions, including the North West, was higher than in Scotland (2.2%), Wales (1.9%), and Northern Ireland (0.8%) in April 2024. London and the South East had the largest gaps; the North West sat in the middle range. (source: ONS regional gender pay gap 2024)

• In Liverpool, girls are less likely than boys to take A-levels in maths, physics or computing — subjects that often lead to higher-paid jobs. (source: DfE A-level and other 16 to 18 results 2023/24)

• The University of Liverpool runs STEM outreach programmes, including workshops and taster days, to encourage more girls locally into science and technology. (source: University of Liverpool STEM Outreach)