Gay men now earn more than straight men on average, study shows
After years of earning less.
By Will Stroude
A new study has found that gay men earn more than straight men on average.
For years studies have shown that gay men earned an average of five to 10% less than straight men. However, a new report in the Harvard Business Review has found that gay men now earn 10% more than straight men on average.
The report, conducted by the Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, compared the earnings of two men who both have similar skill sets, responsibilities, education profiles and years of experience.
For 20 years, studies showed that gay men earned less across different time periods and countries including the USA, Canada and the UK.
Kitt Carpenter, an economics professor who co-authored the report, said he checked the data several times to ensure he hadn’t made a mistake.
In his report, Carpenter said there was not enough data to explain why gay man earn more than straight men. He did suggest that improved attitudes towards LGBT people are a likely factor in explaining the findings. He wrote:
“One interpretation of the literature’s near-universal prior finding of a gay male earnings penalty was that it was a consequence of labor market discrimination against gay men.”
“If that’s the case, then, naturally, improved attitudes toward LGBTQ people would reduce this penalty.”
Meanwhile, Carpenter conducted a similar study for professional women and found that results have remained the same as lesbian women have consistently earned more than straight women.