Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations (2020) / Chapter Skim
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10 Economic Well-Being
10 Economic Well-Being
Pages 253-286
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From page 253... ...
In the United States, most of those resources or goods and services come from the marketplace, requiring purchases using income acquired through earnings from employment, benefits from a public assistance program, or income derived from sources of wealth. Accordingly, this chapter addresses what is known about income, wealth, and poverty, looking at differences based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
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From page 254... ...
The research primarily compares people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual with those who identify as heterosexual, or it compares transgender people with those who are cisgender. Much evidence suggests that bisexual and transgender people have lower incomes and higher poverty than lesbian, gay, and cisgender heterosexual people (Badgett, 2018; Badgett, Choi, and Wilson, 2019; Carpenter, Eppink, and Gonzales, 2020)
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From page 255... ...
For example, a recent study of incomes in the 2013–2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) reported average annual earnings; they were $39,903 for heterosexual women but $38,803 for bisexual women and $47,026 for lesbian women.
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From page 256... ...
. Interpretations of Earnings Data The interpretation of reported wage differences by sexual orientation or gender identity is challenging for several reasons: LGBT people are a heterogeneous population, and the effects may be subgroup specific; studies have used different data sources; time periods vary; and the study designs limit extrapolations.
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From page 257... ...
The lack of inclusion of measures of sexual and gender diversity in longitudinal surveys has prevented more detailed comparisons of earnings at different stages of life for SGD people, as well as better insight into measuring labor market experience. Given the gaps and weaknesses in the available data, studies use novel strategies to approximate the sexual orientation difference in labor market experience and explore whether the lesbian premium is related to greater commitment to and experience in the paid labor market.
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From page 258... ...
studies showing higher earnings than heterosexual women but lower earnings than gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men, demonstrating the complexity of interpreting wages in the context of a highly gendered labor market. Intersectionality The wage effects of sexual orientation and gender identity may not be uniform across gender, race, and ethnicity, immigration status, or disability status given the intersecting effects of those personal characteristics, although there has been little research on intersectionality in economic outcomes.
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From page 259... ...
. A growing body of research suggests that at least some groups in the LGBT population -- notably, transgender people and bisexual people -- have a higher risk of poverty than heterosexual cisgender people.
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From page 260... ...
Second, data on self-identified LGBT people show that bisexual and transgender people are more at risk and lesbian women and gay men at equal risk of poverty compared with heterosexual-identified people. One study pooled 2013–2016 NHIS data that included 2,600 self-identified LGB people (Badgett, 2018)
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From page 261... ...
. • Blacks who identify as LGBT or are in same-sex couples have higher poverty rates than white LGBT people or same-sex cou ples and higher rates than non-LGBT Blacks (Badgett, Choi, and Wilson, 2019; Badgett, Durso, and Schneebaum, 2013)
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From page 262... ...
The research on poverty is corroborated by other measures that indicate economic insecurity. An analysis from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health found that female sexual minorities were more likely than heterosexual women to have personal incomes in the nearpoverty range (100–199 percent of the poverty level)
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From page 263... ...
Occupational segregation matters because occupation is an important determinant of earnings, and it also reflects the inclusiveness of labor markets for SGD populations. The studies of earnings discussed above usually controlled for occupation in their analyses, and several of them also highlighted that LGB people are overrepresented or underrepresented in particular occupational categories when compared with non-LGBT people (Antecol, Jong, and Steinberger, 2008; Badgett, 1995; Baumle, Compton, and Poston, 2009)
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From page 264... ...
Compared with heterosexual people, LGB people are found in occupations that involve more task independence and social perceptiveness, which might protect them against discrimination and harassment if they were to disclose their sexual orientation (Martell, 2018; Tilcsik, Anteby, and Knight, 2015)
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From page 265... ...
. More than 9,000 people filed charges of employment discrimination based on either sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination with state and federal nondiscrimination agencies over the 2013–2016 period (Baumle, Badgett, and Boutcher, 2019)
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From page 266... ...
. Studies in other countries also find potentially discriminatory hiring practices for gay men and lesbian women in Sweden and the United Kingdom and for transgender people in four Asian countries (Ahmed, Andersson, and Hammarstedt, 2013; Drydakis, 2015; Winter et al., 2018)
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From page 267... ...
Compensation Discrimination SGD populations experience compensation discrimination in the workplace, which includes unequal treatment between same-sex and differentsex couples regarding health insurance benefits and parental leave and access to transition-related care for transgender populations. Prior to the national legalization of marriage for same-sex couples in 2015, several studies documented disparities in access to health insurance among samesex couples and their children (Ash and Badgett, 2006; Buchmueller and Carpenter, 2010, 2012; Heck, Sell, and Gorin, 2006; Ponce et al., 2010)
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From page 268... ...
Given the research suggesting positive economic benefits of military service among marginalized populations, it seems reasonable to assume that the ban on transgender military service effectively closes an avenue for economic advancement for this already economically disadvantaged population. Workplace Disclosure of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Another important factor in assessing the effects of workplace discrimination is the degree to which SGD populations are "out" in their workplace environments.
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From page 269... ...
. Between 2013 and 2016, more than 9,000 people filed charges of employment discrimination with state and federal nondiscrimination agencies on the basis of either sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination (Baumle, Badgett, and Boutcher, 2019)
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From page 270... ...
. Private-sector workplaces that have policies that affirm the inclusion of SGD people and prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are associated with positive outcomes for both the businesses and their employees.
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From page 271... ...
Data on housing outcomes with measures of sexual orientation and gender identity (or other SGD markers) are limited, so the body of research reviewed in this section includes existing studies of population-based data, but it relies heavily on nonprobability samples and experiments to study disadvantages related to housing.
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From page 272... ...
Some research finds that LGBT populations have lower home ownership rates than cisgender heterosexual people. The 2015 USTS found only 16 percent of transgender and gender-nonconforming adult respondents indicated that they owned their homes, compared with more than 60 percent of all U.S.
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From page 273... ...
Discrimination in Rental Housing Research shows that rental-related housing discrimination associated with sexual orientation and gender identity exists, but the extent of that discrimination is not well documented. Findings from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS)
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From page 274... ...
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The social science research on the economic well-being of SGD populations has focused mainly on comparisons of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people with heterosexual people. More recently, data on transgender people have allowed for some comparisons with cisgender populations.
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From page 275... ...
Economic vulnerabilities are greater for certain groups, including transgender people, bisexual people, lesbian women, and LGBT people of color. However, very little is known about how low-income SGD populations are treated when seeking services and public assistance, or about intersectional inequali ties associated with race, ethnicity, and disability status.
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From page 276... ...
SGD populations have also experienced compensation and benefit discrimination in the workplace. In 2020, the Supreme Court held that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited by Title VII, the federal law that is part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Bostock v.
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From page 277... ...
For instance, research on lifetime workforce experience could measure the effects of labor force participation and human capital differences on income differences for SGD populations. Research on the influences on occupational attainment could address the roles of gender and sexuality stereotypes, preferences, barriers, and workplace characteristics.
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From page 278... ...
. LGBT Poverty in the United States: A Study of Differences between Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Groups.
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From page 279... ...
. Transgender status, gender identity, and socioeconomic outcomes in the United States.
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From page 280... ...
. Gender identity issues and workplace discrimination: The transgender experience.
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From page 281... ...
. Sexual Orientation and Housing Discrimination in Michigan: A Report of Michigan's Fair Housing Centers.
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From page 282... ...
. Comparing the earnings of cohabiting lesbians, cohabiting heterosexual women, and married women: Evidence from the 2000 Census.
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From page 283... ...
. A Paired-Testing Pilot Study of Housing Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples and Transgender Individuals.
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From page 284... ...
. Workplace "trans"-actions: How organizations, coworkers, and individual openness influence perceived gender identity discrimination.
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From page 285... ...
Los Angeles, CA: Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. Available: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/ lgbt-homelessness-us.
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