Working at a scandal-plagued company costs women more than men, study finds

It's still unclear whether the thousands of employees Wells Fargo just laid off for creating sham accounts were wholly to blame or just following orders: After all, 5,300 workers is a lot of "bad apples."

What is clear, according to new research, is that company scandals have a lasting effect on the careers of employees — even those who weren't involved.

Simply being associated with Wells Fargo, Enron or Volkswagen or any scandal-plagued company can — apparently — lead to serious salary losses down the line even for those workers not part of the wrongdoing, the Harvard Business Review reported.

RELATED: Gender pay gap across the US:

The study looked at salary data from U.S. regulators from companies who had been caught misstating earnings, and found that the effects of working at such a company can follow you for years.

The effect was most pronounced in the financial sector, with people from troubled firms earning 10% less at new jobs than their counterparts.

Taking into account raises — and using a $200,000 annual starting salary — the researchers estimated that 10% gap can add up to nearly $540,000 over the course of a two-decade career.

One unfortunate finding from the report is that the scandals appear to do more damage to women's salaries than men's: Female workers receive 7% less on average than they would have if the company weren't on their resume — whereas men get just 3% less.

The researchers pointed to a few possible explanations for the gender imbalance: One was that female executives are rarer, and therefore stand out more, making them a riskier bet if there are blemishes on their resume.

Luckily, a few factors were found to counteract the stigma of working for a scandal-plagued employer.

Workers with Ivy League degrees — or with highly specialized, niche skills — saw less damage to their compensation.