The past years have witnessed an increase in the number of studies examining the effects of studying abroad on labour market outcomes using advanced methods of causal inference. On balance, these studies suggest that studying abroad can positively affect graduates’ labour market performance. Only recently, the debate has shifted towards a systematic examination of heterogeneity in the returns to studying abroad. While this research has highlighted social inequalities in the returns to studying abroad depending on graduates’ social origin, we do not know whether returns to studying abroad differ by gender. However, such an analysis is highly relevant not only for the study abroad literature and higher education policy, but also for sociological and economic research addressing gender gaps in labour market performance more broadly. Does studying abroad constitute a mechanism which increases or decreases the gender wage gap? Drawing on the social role theory of sex differences, human capital theory, and signaling theory, we develop theoretical explanations for the existence of gender-specific effects of studying abroad on graduates’ labour income. We test these explanations using data from the Germany-wide 2005 DZHW Graduate Panel. These data allow us to examine the development of gender inequalities in the returns to study abroad during the first ten years of graduates’ careers. To model selection effects and approximate causal effects, we employ matching techniques, that is, both propensity score matching and a Heckman correction. We have concluded our data preparation phase and are currently producing our first set of results.