GENDER has been a sore point when it comes to starting salaries. Male graduates have tended to get more than their female counterparts, often for no apparent reason. But there are signs things may be changing, at least in some occupations.
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When Amelia Daymond qualified as a vet six years ago, she was warned her male counterparts would probably earn $10,000 a year more than she did. But veterinary science is now one of six occupations where starting salaries for female graduates exceed those of men.
Female vets had a median starting salary of $45,000 last year, 4.4 per cent more than their male equivalents, an annual survey by Graduate Careers Australia shows.
Ms Daymond, who studied veterinary science at the University of Sydney and works at Sydney Animal Hospitals in Newtown, is pleasantly surprised women starting out as vets are now earning a little more than their male peers.
''When I graduated, starting salaries seemed to be definitely in favour of males and historically it had always been that way,'' she said. ''We were told that we'd be earning $10,000 a year less than men, which was a bit disheartening. No one really told us why, so it was something we had to fight to equalise it a bit.'' After all, more than 80 per cent of those now studying veterinary science are women.
The differential in favour of female graduates in the physical sciences was even better than for vets, with a median starting salary 5.5 per cent higher than the men. Female graduates in social science, agricultural science, social work and pharmacy also demanded higher salaries than men last year.
However, male graduates still do better overall than women.
Starting salaries for male graduates were $2000 a year more than female graduates last year and there were 14 occupational groups where salaries for men outstripped those for women.
The biggest discrepancy was in earth sciences, where men earned $10,000 a year - or 14.3 per cent - more than women. In dentistry, which attracts the highest median starting salary of $80,000, male graduates earned 6.3 per cent more than women.
The federal government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency points out the maximum gender difference in areas where women earn more than their male counterparts is $3000, whereas men have up to $10,000 higher starting salaries than women.
''The gender pay gap continues to be a problem and this is unacceptable in 2012,'' said the agency's director, Helen Conway. ''Making sure graduate salaries are equitable will begin to tackle this problem. Let's give all people a fair go right from the start.''
