1. Achieving Equality in the Knowledge Economy Kate Purcell and Peter Elias October 2005 Paper prepared for the conference Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Women and Employment Survey: Changes in Womens Employment 1980-2005, Department of Trade and Industry, London, 5 December 2005

2. Trends in employees in employment by hours worked and gender, GB, 1984 - 2005

3. Changing structure of occupations, UK, 1984-2014

4. Changing ratios of high and lower level occupations by gender, 1984 - 2014

5. Participation by young people in Higher Education, Age Participation Index (API) Great Britain, 1961 to 2001

6. Average hourly earnings of graduates (first degree only) and non-graduates (A-levels only), by age and gender

7. The data we use Longitudinal survey of 50% of 1995 cohort: surveyed 3.5 and 7 years after graduation, in 1998/9 and 2002/3, from 38 UK Higher Education Institutions, including full work histories Follow-up programme of telephone and face to face interviews with 200 1995 cohort Telephone interviews with a sample of 1995 high fliers 10 years on Investigation of relevant secondary data sources

8. Average annual gross earnings of 1995 graduates by gender

9. Occupational workplace context by gender

10. The combined effects of various factors on the gender difference in annual earnings of 1995 graduates seven years after graduation

11. Why? The jobs they do? Reasons for taking jobs? Career orientations and values? Non-work variables?

12. A comparison of key career outcomes for three graduate categories Subject studied HumanitiesLawEngineering MalesFemalesMalesFemalesMalesFemales Gender ratios44:5650:5090:10 Average earnings£30,033£24,114£43,458£33,824£31,837£28,789 Gender pay gap 20%22 %10% Using degree subject knowledge in current job 31%37%85%79%75%50% Using degree skills69%74%94%89%86%75% Source: Seven Years On: a survey of the career paths of 1995 graduates

13. Whether respondents expected to achieve a higher position within the next five years, by gender and whether or not had a partner

14. Themes that emerged in the Seven Years On research The significance of life cycle stage Values and career orientations largely similar for women and men but some significant differences The significance of partnership Differences in explanations for different earnings and career outcomes from graduates in different sectors and occupations

15. Work-based issues that emerged in the Seven Years On interviews: Gender stereotyping The impact on earnings and career development of family-building on both career-committed women and men Sex discrimination and sexual harassment

16. The 1995 High Flyers 10 years on: mainly in their early 30s; mainly living with a partner; at an age when major life plans about career and family development are on their agenda and many are beginning family formation; most of the women aspire to continue to their career development; several women have aspirations to move to more generative careers.

17. Careers as a joint project Neo-traditional Compound Complex NB: impact of life-cycle stage

18. 'That's a hard question. I think they are equally important. Financially, obviously not! Maybe she doesn't see it the same way as I do. In terms of allowances that both of us make for each other's career and in terms of either of us saying - I need to work late on this… - they are equally important. She earns a lot more money than I do. We could survive if I lost my job, our lifestyle would continue in exactly the same way as it does now if I lost my job, but if she lost hers we would have to sell the house and do something else …… the mortgage dwarfs my salary. I would be able to cover about two-thirds of it simply on my take home pay. I couldn't pay it on my own, my wife can just about pay it on her own, but we want to have children in a couple of years time, so…That's the pressure in terms of future career development, so I have to move forward..' quickly, '. (Male journalist married to HRM manager)

19. Non-traditional careers Part-time hours and compressed hours Self-employment and consultancy Temporary withdrawal from the labour market Change of career to more family-friendly sector

20. Conclusions Biology isnt destiny, but it does present career and time- management problems, mainly impacting on women; Work/life balance and family-friendly policies are crucial, and the extent to which employers promote them is extremely diverse; Career development that includes non-traditional work patterns and short career breaks is available in good practice employment; Informal constraints and pressures remain the most significant brakes on womens access to equality Among this highly-qualified cohort, women and men expect that both sexes will have lifelong careers.