Out at Work: A Demographic and Policy Analysis of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Discrimination in the Labor Market

Abstract

My dissertation explores the demographics and composition of sexual minority populations in the United States, their labor market experiences, and public policy, respectively. Using a novel method of Cross-Survey Multiple Imputation (CSMI), I create a unique dataset which allows me to examine the demographic profile of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations at the national and state levels. I then measure the prevalence of discrimination experienced by these groups in the labor market through regression analyses and decompositions of wages. Finally, I examine the effectiveness of sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies at the state level. My analyses show that LGB people make up just over four percent of the national population, a sizeable minority though smaller than popular and historical estimates. I show that LGB people tend to be younger, more racially and ethnically diverse, and slightly more educated than the heterosexual majority. However, LGB people are also more likely to be unemployed, more likely to be living below the poverty line, and less likely to have health insurance than heterosexual people. I find that lesbian women and gay men earn a wage premium over similarly situated heterosexual women and men while bisexual men and women experience a significant wage penalty relative to heterosexual men and women. After cataloguing and analyzing all state-level sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies for textual themes, I test for policy effectiveness. My analyses suggest that while policies raise the wages of all workers, the specific effects of policies on LGB workers’ wages are inconsistent, suggesting other factors play a role in shaping wage differentials.