This paper uses quantile regression techniques to analyse the characteristics of the wage distribution of a cohort of Northern Ireland graduates. It was found that the penalty associated with graduate overeducation experienced by female graduates was much larger than that for male graduates. Whilst the impacts of male overeducation tended to be more heavily concentrated in the segments of the wage distribution usually associated with lower ability, the effect was found to be much more pervasive and constant throughout the entirety of the female wage distribution. The results provide only partial support for the hypothesis linking the incidence of overeducation with lower levels of ability. It is shown that the unequal distributional impacts of overeducation contribute, to some extent, to a widening of the gender pay gap, however, educational background and regional labour market characteristics were found to be much more important in this respect.