Across 17 different subject areas, the average earnings of male students who graduated in 2011-12 outstripped those of their female contemporaries.

The results come from an analysis by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit of salary data from students who started university in 2005-06.

Jane Artess, director of research at HECSU, said the study found that despite equal pay having been enshrined in legislation for 40 years, ¡°being female can make a difference to a graduate¡¯s earning power¡±.

¡°The gender distribution of graduate earnings is strikingly uneven - more women are at the lower end of the salary range, particularly within the typical starting salary ranges of ?15-17,999 and ?21-23,999, and men are more likely than women to earn higher salary levels of ?24,000 or more,¡± she writes in the latest editor of Graduate Market Trends.

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¡°Despite having the same Ucas entry tariff points, attending the same type of institution and studying the same subject, men are commanding higher salaries than women,¡± she says.

Even when the data are broken down between the public and private sector, and by graduate and non-graduate jobs, the male earnings lead persists, she adds.

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¡°Since it would be unlawful for employers to pay males and females doing the same job differently, something else must be happening to female graduate earnings,¡± she writes, but does not offer any concrete suggestions as to what may explain the gap.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com