Women take more time to pay off their student debts than men, figures have shown.

It takes a female graduate 16 years to get back in the black after leaving university, compared with 11 for a man. In effect, women take five years more to pay off their student debts than men.

This is a result of the "gender pay gap", which sees many women earning up to 20 per cent less than men.

Women are also more likely to take a career break to bring up children.

The figures, which are based on British government projections for students who started university in 2006, were published in response to a Parliamentary question by the Conservative Party.

"This shows that women get a raw deal in the labour market. Women's earnings are more intermittent and still lower than men's," Conservative Party Education spokesperson David Willetts was quoted as saying by Britain's Daily Mail today.

"This year interest rates on loans doubled from 2.4 per cent to 4.8 per cent and this shows that those debts hit women the most," Willetts said.

But Labour minister Bill Rammell pointed out that both male and female graduates earn more over their lifetimes than those without a degree.

"Employers appreciate the highly-developed skills and talents that all graduates bring to their businesses and are willing to pay accordingly," he said.