Straight Pay for the Queer Guy? Earnings Differentials of Males and Females in Same-Sex Couples in Canada

18 Pages Posted: 5 Jun 2007

Date Written: June 2007

Abstract

Same-sex marriage in Canada has been federal law in Canada since July 2005. Although gays and lesbians in Canada may have attained equality in marriage rights, this doesn't mean that they do not suffer discrimination in other aspects of their lives. In particular, in the labour market there still may be earnings differentials that may be due to discrimination or other factors which we are unable to observe. This paper utilizes the 2001General Social Survey to address the issue of differential earnings amongst members of same-sex couples compared to their counterparts in different-sex couples. We find that men in gay couples have an earnings penalty compared to heterosexual males in both common-law and married relationships, but no penalty exists for lesbians. These results are robust to changes in model specification. Finally, we reconcile our results with the sparse literature on gay and lesbian earnings differentials.

Keywords: Gay, Lesbian, Earnings Differentials

JEL Classification: J71

Suggested Citation

Mueller, Richard E., Straight Pay for the Queer Guy? Earnings Differentials of Males and Females in Same-Sex Couples in Canada (June 2007). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=991312 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.991312

Richard E. Mueller (Contact Author)

University of Lethbridge ( email )

Department of Economics
4401 University Drive
Lethbridge, A.B. T1K 3M4
Canada

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