Occupational segregation by sexual orientation in the U.S.: exploring its economic effects on same-sex couples

Abstract

This paper examines the importance of the occupational sorting of individuals in same-sex couples in explaining the economic position of lesbian women and gay men beyond controlling for occupation in the estimation of their respective wage gaps, as usually done in the literature. The analysis reveals that the distribution of partnered gay men across occupations brings them a monetary gain, with respect to the average wage of coupled workers, whereas the occupational sorting of partnered lesbian women only allows them to depart from the large losses that straight partnered women have. The results show that when controlling for educational achievements, immigration profile, racial composition, and age structure, the gain for gay men associated with their occupational sorting shrinks substantially. Moreover, the small gain that lesbian women derive from their distribution across occupations turns into an earning disadvantage when one controls for characteristics. This leaves them with a loss, with respect to the average wage of coupled workers, that is not too different from to the one partnered straight women have. It is their higher educational attainments and, to a lower extent, their lower immigration profile that protects workers in same-sex couples, revealing that gay men do not enjoy the privilege of straight partnered men and that lesbian women are not free from the mark of gender.

Still proud at the polls? LGBT+ rights don't dilute the sexuality turnout gap

“…Using common predictors of voter turnout, such as educational attainment, income or place of residence, in a matching model is not advisable due to the so‐called ‘bad control problem’ (Angrist & Pischke, 2009). These attributes are all ‘post‐treatment’ and can be influenced, at least in part, by the treatment variable (Antecol et al., 2008; Fine, 2015; Poston et al., 2017; Río & Alonso‐Villar, 2019). As a matter of consequence, their inclusion might dilute the impact of sexuality on voter turnout.…”

Economic Vulnerability of Sexual Minorities: Evidence from the US Household Pulse Survey

“…For example, stigma and discrimination appears to motivate sexual minorities to complete more college but with college majors comprised of more tolerant individuals even if they map into lower paying occupations (Burn & Martell, 2020 ). The lack of access to the rights and privileges that accompany marriage may lower the returns to investments in household assets thereby influencing labor market attachment and occupational attainment (Del Río & Alonso-Villar, 2019 ; Hansen et al, 2020 ). Indeed, such behavior has long been argued as an explanation of the marriage premium observed among heterosexual men (Loh, 1996 ) and more recently among men and women in same-sex marriages (Martell & Nash, 2020 ).…”

Occupational Achievements of Same‐Sex Couples in the United States by Gender and Race

“…However, there is strong evidence that occupational segregation explains a large part of the gender wage gap and the racial wage gap (Blau and Kahn ; Cotter, Hermsen, and Vanneman ; Petersen and Morgan ), which suggests that occupations may be important in explaining the earnings of the various sexual orientation–gender–race groups. Thus, distinguishing among 453 occupational categories, Del Río and Alonso‐Villar () showed that occupational sorting plays an important role in explaining the earnings differentials between homosexual and heterosexual workers. The higher educational achievement of gay men and lesbians makes it possible for them to access highly paid occupations, especially gay men, which results in earnings that are higher than those of their straight peers.…”

“…The magnitude of segregation by sexual orientation has been recently quantified. Using a fine occupational classification and distinguishing among four groups—women and men living in same‐sex and different‐sex couples—Del Río and Alonso‐Villar () showed that partnered lesbians in the United States are the most evenly distributed group across occupations whereas their straight counterparts represent the group most unevenly distributed (i.e., it is the group experiencing more overrepresentation in some occupations and underrepresentation in others). The levels of unevenness for gay and heterosexual men, which are similar to one another, are between the levels for lesbian and heterosexual women.…”

“…Evidence exists that the racial composition of the gay and lesbian population plays a non‐negligible role in explaining these men and women’s occupational achievements and earnings (Del Río and Alonso‐Villar ). We also know that the magnitude of lesbians’ wage premiums and gay men’s wage penalties, compared with their heterosexual peers, vary across races/ethnicities (Douglas and Steinberger ).…”