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Research on discrimination is often depressing, which is no surprise. Is it not worth it to be part of a minority group? Come on, let’s knock me down with a feather. However, there are some people who can defy expectations. Several academic papers have found that, on average, lesbians earn more than comparable heterosexual women. And while one might expect improved gay rights to lead to higher wages for lesbians, the premium actually appears to be shrinking.
A review of 24 papers covering rich countries from 1991 to 2018 found that lesbians earn an average of 7% more than straight women, even after controlling for age and education differences. Ta. This gap was most pronounced in the United States. For example, there was no difference in France and Sweden, but penalties were imposed in Australia and Greece. Meanwhile, gay men’s average income was about 7 percent lower than their straight counterparts.
Another study by Lee Badgett of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his co-authors found that after similarly controlling for factors such as age and education, the hourly wage premium for U.S. women in same-sex couples has increased from about 20% in 1990. It turns out that it has decreased. In contrast, there has been “no clear trend” in wage penalties for gay men since 2000.
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There are understandable doubts as to whether this premium was real. As it turns out, anti-discrimination laws aren’t entirely enforced on a whim, and there’s evidence that employers are less keen on resumes from openly gay applicants. Perhaps this premium was simply a product of selective reporting, with higher-income people feeling more comfortable sharing their sexuality with researchers. But while this is plausible, why does it apply to women and not men?
Other explanations include that it is the result of a fixed mindset about higher wages, which has since faded. Perhaps managers perceived lesbians as assertive and ambitious and promoted them accordingly. Again, this is possible, but it’s a little harder to deal with recruiters’ callous treatment of lesbian resumes.
Differences in family responsibilities may be another factor. Lesbians are certainly less likely to have children. In the mid-2010s, only one-fifth of lesbian women in the United States had children at home, compared with one-third of straight women. Same-sex couples also appear to be less likely to practice extreme specialization when it comes to raising children. They are less likely to have one of their members removed from paid employment.
I don’t think the presence of children alone can explain all the historical gaps. For example, a study of U.S. women published in 2007 found that the wage premium for lesbians persisted even after controlling for differences in family circumstances.
However, there is compelling evidence that family matters. A study of Norwegians by Martin Ekkov Andresen of the University of Oslo and Emily Nix of the University of Southern California found that while straight women’s earnings continue to decline after childbirth, lesbians’ It turns out that the decrease in parents’ income disappears after two years. Another study found evidence that the wage premium for lesbians declined, at least initially, after U.S. states made it easier for same-sex couples to adopt.
Lesbians, on average, have different expectations about family life and may therefore make greater career investments. Consistent with this, one study found that the premium was much smaller for lesbians who were married to a man at some point.
A recent research paper by Raquel Carrasco of Madrid Charles III University and Ana Nuevo Chiquero of the University of Edinburgh found that in the United States, women in same-sex couples are less likely to work in jobs classified as “routine.” I am. Differences in education, parental status, and even the likelihood of entering the labor force. (Lesbians are much more likely to be in the workforce.)
Their theory is that because lesbians are less likely to have their careers interrupted to raise children, they will not put off entering jobs where such interruptions are punishable. They also found that the gap was much smaller for younger women, which may help explain why the wage gap has narrowed.
Badgett, a pioneer in this area of research, believes the historical premium may be at least partially due to lesbians’ longer work experience not being adequately measured in existing research. I’m thinking. And her best bet is that the premium is disappearing as the (under-measured) experience of straight women is converging with that of lesbians. As norms change, perhaps going against the norm looks different now.
soumaya.keynes@ft.com
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