Lesbians earn more than hetero women.

That's quite a surprise and potentially unwelcome news for the German Minister for Family Affairs Manuela Schwesig and particularly the conservative CDU/CSU ilk. But hey, you got to face these facts, as long as you believe in studies.

Sexual orientation and earnings: How being in a partnership matters

Cevat Giray Aksoy, Christopher S. Carpenter, Jefferson Frank

Previous studies on labour market discrimination based on sexual orientation have not revealed whether reported differences in earnings have been due to differences in the samples, populations, or outcomes, nor what the likely cause might be. Using a UK-wide dataset of sexual orientation and labour market earnings, this column shows that the overall difference in earnings for men who identify as gay is near zero irrespective of whether they are in a partnership or not, while women with a lesbian orientation have an earnings premium of about 5.5%. Specialisation explains earnings differences that depend on partnership status, though outside London there is some evidence of discrimination.

Partnership status matters: Full-time employment

We discover that it is important to have data on both partnered and non-partnered sexual minorities. Our full-time employment models indicate that gay (bisexual) men are 4.5 (11.9) percentage points less likely to be working full time than similar heterosexual men. This difference for gay men is driven by the partnered sample. Partnered gay men are 6.1 percentage points less likely to be working full time than similar partnered heterosexual men. In contrast, the difference for bisexual men is driven primarily in the non-partnered sample. Non-partnered bisexual men are 11.7 percentage points less likely to be working full time than similar non-partnered heterosexual men.

Lesbians are 8.2 percentage points more likely to be working full time than similar heterosexual women, while bisexual women are 5.4 percentage points less likely to be working full time. As with gay males, the lesbian difference in full-time employment (although of opposite sign) is predominantly driven by the partnered sample. Partnered lesbians are 15.4 percentage points more likely to be working full time than similar partnered heterosexual women.

Partnership status matters: Earnings

After controlling for observable determinants of earnings such as education, location, and family structure, we find a positive and statistically significant difference in earnings for partnered lesbians compared to partnered heterosexual women, but no earnings differential for non-partnered lesbians compared with similar non-partnered heterosexual women.

We find a negative and marginally significant earnings penalty for partnered gay men compared to partnered heterosexual men, but no earnings differential for non-partnered gay men compared with similar non-partnered heterosexual men. Taking partnered and non-partnered individuals together, we find that the earnings difference associated with a gay sexual orientation for men is near zero, while the associated population-based earnings difference among women associated with a lesbian orientation is a premium of about 5.5%, and is statistically significant.

Tough to stomach for Manuela in light of bleak German demographics.

Full post here

Manuela Schwesig incredulous: "What? Come again."