Poorer girls on course for low pay

GIRLS from disadvantaged backgrounds are picking courses at the age of 16 that can later leave them in lower paid jobs than men, according to research.

Regardless of how good their GCSE grades were, they are most likely to opt for studies that will see them working in jobs including retail, childcare and social care.

Alastair Da Costa, the social mobility commissioner, said: “There is no doubt growing up in deprivation, especially for women, has an enduring impact on early career earnings.”

Half of them picked courses that ranked in the bottom 25 per cent of earnings. But poorer males were more likely to chose technical subjects such as engineering and IT, which could lead to higher earnings. Only 31 per cent of them had the lowest paid jobs.

Among white disadvantaged Britons, 24 per cent of women and 33 per cent of men picked courses that led to salaries in the top 50 per cent.

But among people of Caribbean origin, 27 per cent of men and 22 per cent of women took courses that led to higher earnings.

Meanwhile, 28 per cent of disadvantaged women from inner London, and 32 per cent from outer London picked courses that could potentially lead to higher pay.

But 17 per cent of women in the North-east and 20 per cent of those in the North-west were the least likely to take high-earning courses.

Researchers also found that 80 per cent of A-level courses could be linked to well-paid careers in the top 25 per cent of earnings.

Pupils who opted for a mix of an academic and technical qualification could be among the 70 per cent of workers with combined courses which ranked in the top earnings.

Dr Luke Sibieta, who co-authored a report by the Social Mobility Commission, said the choices can have “a large bearing on their future economic opportunities” and called for work to tackle inequalities.