Surveys have revealed that girls who study maths and science as A-level subjects go on to earn a third more in wages, compared to those who take up art and humanity subjects.
The Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan stated that this data produced by the consultancy London Economics revealed the importance of alleviating female students to take up subjects such as maths, science, technology and engineering in order to help bridge the gender pay gap. Girls who take up one of these subjects (also known as STEM subjects) are likely to see their wages rise by £4,500 a year on average, while those who take up two of such subjects are anticipated to emprise a pay rise of 33.1%.
Nicky Morgan reveals, “More girls are studying maths and sciences than ever before and today’s landmark report shows this can benefit their earnings by as much as a third. Encouraging more young people – especially girls – to study STEM subjects is a vital part of our plan for education and it has been vindicated by this in-depth research.”
The research conducted by researchers from London Economics analysed information linked to 13,000 people who had gone through the education system since 1970. Researchers found that the students who performed well in maths tests at primary school ended up earning 25% more than their peers, regardless of what other subjects they chose to study as teenagers.
Earlier in March, the Department for Education formed investigation revealed that getting two or more A-levels added an extra £140,000 to a student's future lifetime revenue.
