Degrees from non-elite universities worsen job prospects for privileged women, new research finds

‘I was surprised to see that a degree does not necessarily guarantee higher levels of security for women in the higher socio-economic position,’ says academic

Research analyses survey data on 4,281 women in England from different socioeconomic backgrounds to discover the effects of their qualifications on their careers (Getty)

Women from better-off families are less likely to attain secure employment if they have a degree from a non-elite university than if they have no degree, according to new research.

The study, carried out at the University of Essex, found that although degrees can help women from less affluent backgrounds, they do not allow them to catch up with their wealthier counterparts in terms of career progression.

Maria Holcekova, who conducted the research for her PhD, analysed survey data on 4,281 women in England from different socioeconomic backgrounds to discover the effects of their educational qualifications on their careers when they were 25 years old.

The sociologist found that for women from the highest socioeconomic group, 14 per cent of the total, going to a non-elite university went so far as actually damaging their chances of getting a secure job.

Around 30 per cent of women graduates from this group went to a Russell Group university – 24 institutions including Oxford and Cambridge.

When they were the age of 25 or 26, 16 per cent were doing shift work, 2 per cent were on a zero-hour contract and 14 per cent were underemployed. The latter is defined as working in jobs where their degrees were not necessary.

Of the 70 per cent graduates from this group who went to a non-elite university, 28 per cent were doing shift work, 3 per cent were on a zero-hour contract and 17 per cent were underemployed.

Of those from this group without a degree (44 per cent of the total) 19 per cent were doing shift work, 2 per cent were on a zero-hour contract and 30 per cent were underemployed.

“I was surprised to see that a degree does not necessarily guarantee higher levels of security for women in the higher socioeconomic position,” Ms Holcekova told The Independent.

“However, it has to be noted that women in this group still benefit from higher levels of security than women in the lower socioeconomic position. For instance, women in the lower socioeconomic position have the lowest levels of employment at each level of education and even if they do achieve a degree they are still more likely to be underemployed than women in higher socioeconomic position without a degree.”

She also found that women from better-off families who graduated with pass or third class degrees were more likely to be doing shift work than those who do not have degrees.

“With regards to women in the higher socioeconomic position, they appear to have lower probability of permanent employment and more likely to be doing shift work at age 25 if they graduate with pass/third class degree than no degree at all,” she said.

Ms Holcekova added: “Graduating from a non-Russell Group university increases the probability of insecure employment, such as shift work or zero-hours contracts, compared to those without a degree.

“It is perhaps due to the high expectations of this group, given their privileged socioeconomic backgrounds, that high achievement tends to improve but low achievement tends to worsen certain labour market outcomes.

“Higher educational qualifications and attainment seems like a pre-requisite rather than an advantage for this cluster of young women, in gaining secure positions within the labour market at age 25 or 26.”

The academic, whose research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, also discovered that while undertaking further education or gaining a degree from any university helped women from the poorest background – 23 per cent of the sample – they were still less successful than their wealthier peers at finding secure employment.

She found that at age 25 or 26, 31 per cent were carrying out shift work, 7 per cent were on a zero-hour contract and 19 per cent were underemployed.

She said: “My analysis shows that engagement in higher education does indeed seem to benefit certain groups of young people in certain respects, however, this is by no means universal across different socioeconomic groups.

“Lower socioeconomic groups have worse chances of progression into the ‘right’ forms of higher education in the first place and, even if they succeed, education is not the golden route to meritocracy so often praised by the government.

“For them, education is no longer a secure way to protect oneself from a precarious position within the labour market. The implications thus call current government policy initiatives into question with regard to their effectiveness in tackling youth unemployment and insecurity through qualification inflation.”

She explained the research only looked at the very early stages of labour market participation and the employment prospects of wealthier women may become more secure later on in their career.

“Just because women from the higher socioeconomic position start off in a more insecure employment, it does not mean they will experience this later on. For instance, certain occupations might be more likely to offer shift work position earlier on but might progress into secure forms of employment with years of experience and some might not.”