Pay gap for gay and lesbians

Gay men receive lower earnings than heterosexual men of comparable education, skills and work experience, an international research project carried out by the Anglia Ruskin University has revealed.

The US had the biggest gap, with heterosexual men earning on average 9% more than their gay counterparts. The lowest gap was in the Netherlands (4%). Gay men in the UK earn on average 5% less than their straight colleagues.

Sexual orientation and labour market outcomes is based on studies from countries with laws against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

For lesbians, the patterns are ambiguous: in some countries they have been found to earn less than their heterosexual counterparts, while in others they earn the same or more. In the UK, for example, lesbian women earn 8% more, while in the USA the gap is +20%.

However, both gay and lesbian employees have lower job satisfaction than their heterosexual counterparts. All qualitative studies suggest that gay and lesbian employees are more likely to be harassed by work colleagues than their heterosexual counterparts.

More positively, the number of years gay and lesbian workers have been open about their sexual orientation in their current workplace is positively associated with their job satisfaction.

Report author Nick Drydakis said: “Firms should be encouraged to foster work environments in which gay and lesbian workers feel comfortable enough to be open about their sexual orientation.”

http://wol.iza.org/articles/sexual-orientation-and-labor-market-outcomes-1.pdf