| Abstract: |
The paper initiates a research agenda to study new developments of the effects
of sexual orientation and gender identity on the labour market performance of
individuals. It presents a selection of the small previous literature to
establish the important spectrum of topics and identify important challenges
to compare them to the papers in the special issue of the International
Journal of Manpower (Volume 41, Issue 6) dedicated to Sexual Orientation and
the Labor Market. We rely on quantitative empirical studies and compare
findings along a variety of topics such as, earnings patterns, occupational
access constraints, relationships between subjective well-being indicators and
marriage status, workplace experiences and family support all along the sexual
orientation and gender identity issues. Contrary to the earlier literature,
the most recent studies have found that gay men received either the same wages
or higher wages compared to heterosexual men, while lesbian women have been
found to receive lower wages in comparison to heterosexual women. We reveal
the new evidence on this emerging puzzling pattern of sexual orientation and
wages, but highlight also other innovations in the special issue: (i) the
first ever meta-analysis of field experiments on occupational access
discrimination based on sexual orientation, (ii) utilizing the moderating role
of marital status and family support, (iii) studying occupational access
discrimination based on gender identity, and (iv) evaluate how distastes,
stereotypes, and positive workplace actions affect trans people’s labour
market performance. The article attempts to provide a fast and insightful
guidance to the major challenges, received wisdom and open issues in the field
of sexual orientation and gender identity at work and in the labour market. We
summarize the implications provided in all chapters to develop the best
evidence-based policy making. |