This paper examines the composition of the gender earnings gap among young European higher education graduates, with a particular focus on competencies controlling for individual background and job characteristics. The results show that much of the female worker's earnings advantage can be explained by job characteristics. With respect to the competencies required at current jobs, we find that foreign language proficiency and computer skills play a large role in explaining part of the female earnings advantage. Additionally, estimation results by each one of the countries included in the analysis show that gender earning gaps are disparate in size as well as in composition.