Can you substantiate that comment? Are you referring to salary/bonus growth being slower in leaner years? Is there a significant difference over a 40 year work life?
The first study says the the income gap closes within 10 years.
10 years is not a "lifetime".
"Another study of M.B.A. students by Stanford economist Paul Oyer to be published in the Journal of Finance, found that having the bad luck of graduating during a bear market could slash lifetime earnings. Oyer estimated that during a bull market, someone who gets an investment banking job upon graduation earned an additional $1.5 million to $5 million throughout their lives when compared to someone who graduated during a bear market. This was in the 1990's, so it's likely to be even higher now. "