SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND WAGES

We wrestle with the issue of whether or not discrimination, in favor of or against straight and gay people can account for wage divergences between these two groups of people. Section II is devoted to empirical evidence supporting the existence of a discrimination wage gap due to sexual orientation. The majority of studies provided have concluded that sexual orientation diminishes wages for homosexual and bisexual men, whereas it increases wage premiums for homosexual women. Discrimination due to sexual orientation, specifically homo/bisexual males, is present in foreign labor markets as well as in the United States. In these calculations, all other factors, such as age, education, race, marital status, etc., are identified and taken into consideration when calculating the effect of sexuality on wage differences. Section III strives to explain why the discrimination wage gap cannot exist through a theoretical approach. In equilibrium, sexual preference can play no role whatsoever in wage gaps. We are never in full equilibrium, but the “expected value” is that we are always exactly on point, in the absence of any reason to expect over or underestimating prices or wages. We expect that discrimination cannot account for gay people being paid less than straights, assuming equal productivity. At equilibrium, these economic boycotts are impotent due to profit opportunities. We conclude leaving the reader to decide which perspective is more true.