In this paper we seek to investigate the role of different factors in accounting for the differences in earnings among recent graduates working in the private sector in Ireland. Three years after graduation there is a pay gap of 8 per cent in hourly wages between male and female graduates in the private sector and a 4 per cent non-significant gap in the public sector. Our analyses suggest that there are four main factors behind the pay gap in the private sector: first, differential returns to educational capital for male and female graduates; second, differential returns to employment experience for male and female graduates; third, gender differences in field of study, and differences in the rewards attached to these fields; fourth, working in a female-dominated workplace, which has a negative influence on earnings for both men and women but predominantly affects women. (Contains 1 figure, 10 tables and 7 notes.)