THE proportion of women graduates in low-paid jobs such as school secretaries, nursery nurses and receptionists has more than doubled in the past decade, according to a report by the equality watchdog.

Research carried out by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) shows that the proportion of female graduates in such jobs rose from 5.4% to 13.2% between 1995 and 2005, compared with a rise from 4.3% to 7.1% for male graduates.

The figures confirm that the expansion of university education in the past 20 years has significantly devalued the worth of a degree in the job market.

The proportion of female graduates in higher-level jobs – such as company directors, doctors and senior civil servants – declined sharply from 64.9% to 45.3%. Male graduates slipped less, from 75.8% to 61%.

Caroline Slocock, chief executive of the EOC, blamed employers for not providing flexibility. “When women have children they often want to work part-time, but can’t while maintaining their positions and increasing their prospects,” she said.

The report, to be published this week, also finds women who have children in their thirties have better established careers and greater bargaining power.

Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice at the London Business School, said women were favouring careers that offer a better quality of life: “Our own research suggests women are increasingly taking work that is meaningful, interesting and resonates with their life-style and not just because they cannot get flexible work.”

The data in the report, entitled Poor Returns: Winners and Losers in the Job Market, was collected from labour force surveys.

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