For perhaps the first and only time in a person’s professional life where they are competing in a somewhat level playing field is as a freshly minted college graduate. If your grades are comparable and you are competing in the same field as your fellow graduate, you should be just as confident about landing a coveted job as he or she might be. But a study of recent college graduates reveals that this is not necessarily so. You point of view, it turns out, is very much affected by what gender you are.

The survey, conducted as part of the Cengage Student Opportunity Index, shows that while recent college graduates feel good about their job prospects, women are much less confident than men when it comes to salary expectations.  Women are also significantly less optimistic than men about the country’s economic outlook, with a majority reporting they feel the country is on the wrong track. And these concerns are not unreasonable. The fact that we are a society that is ideologically divided over the question of equal pay for equal work and statistics that show women consistently earn considerably less than their male colleagues in similar positions and professions make the case for pessimism more than reasonable.

Also, female students in higher education are preconditioned to feel anxiety and pessimism about their professional future. They face unique challenges compared to their male peers. From perceived bias in certain majors to microaggressions on campus, the female experience in college can be difficult. And what’s worse, the theme follows women post-graduation into the workforce.

“The cornerstone of the American dream is that everyone deserves an equal and fair opportunity to succeed,” said Sharon Loeb, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Cengage. “And yet, the persistent gender gap among recent college graduates in areas such as salary expectations underscores that we have more work to do in order to create a level playing field.”

Next year, “Women’s Equality Day” will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.

“Women’s Equality Day” was first celebrated in 1973 and is proclaimed each year by the United States president. According to Loeb, this annual celebration, “offers an important reminder to workplace leaders that we must be mindful and purposeful in how we attract, train and develop new talent. It also further validates the special responsibility that my female leadership colleagues and I have to champion the growth and development of other women, regardless of industry.”

Keep in mind that even the most basic right to vote, which seems a most reasonable argument to win, took more than 40 years to be adopted. It was first proposed in Congress in 1878, but the fight took shape years earlier in the mid-19th century. Several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied and practiced civil disobedience to drag the amendment over the finish line. The concept of women voting was considered polarizing and radical. The idea of a woman being on a major political party ticket for president seemed impossible and unthinkable.

Now, almost 50 years since “Women’s Equality Day” was established, things are more hopeful, but not enough to change the mindset of today’s female graduate. They can relate to Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire’s long-time and largely overshadowed dance partner in a series of popular musicals who once complained that she did all the dance moved that Astaire did, but she had to do them backwards… and in heels! •

Survey Says…

The Cengage Student Opportunity Index measured the opportunity environment for graduates across 17 indicators, using existing public data and a survey of 2,500 recent and upcoming graduates. Cengage is an education and technology company serving the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. The company is headquartered in Boston, Mass. with an office hub in San Francisco. Key findings of the Cengage Student Opportunity Index include:

Employment Outlook:

• Overall, women are much less confident than men that they will find a job that meets their salary expectations.

• While an overwhelming majority (93%) of near graduates felt strongly they would be able to land a new job in their fields within six months of graduating, men are slightly more confident at 96% in comparison to women at 91%.

• When it comes to salary expectations, the gender gap grows significantly, with three-quarters (75%) of men feeling confident they will land a job that meets their salary expectations, compared to 62% of women.

• One in five women are not confident they will be able to find employment at a job that meets their salary expectations within a year.

• In the areas of Politics and the Economy, female recent or upcoming graduates are more skeptical than men about the financial and political outlook and health of the United States.

• Only 40% of women feel the U.S. economic outlook is better now than when they started college, compared to 62% of men—a whopping 22-point gender gap, considering that men and women should be affected equally by consumer confidence and the economy.

• Men are more likely to think the country is going in the right direction than women (a 49% to 29% difference among men). This is contrasted with a majority of women (53%) feeling the country is on the wrong track.

Debt:

• While student loan debt is on the rise overall, a greater number of female recent or upcoming graduates are more conservative and cautious about money matters and report graduating with no debt in comparison to men.

• By the same token, even when debt is incurred, women are more likely than men to graduate with no debt (56% to 36% respectively).

• However, for women who report having student debt, the average amount of debt is slightly higher at $23,656 compared to $22,078 for men.

Health:

• Female recent or upcoming graduates report feeling less satisfied with their overall health than their male counterparts.

• Seventy-eight percent of men report being satisfied with their physical health, compared to only 58% of women.

• The vast majority (80%) of men are satisfied with their mental health, compared to 65% of women. Whether this is stress or anxiety related is not clear.

More information about gender discrimination among female students is available in the eBook, “Gender Discrimination in the Classroom and Beyond,” available by visiting https://info.cengage.com/EBOOK-GenderDiscrimination