Partnered gay men may also be more observable as being gay than non-partnered counterparts. They may have photos of a same-sex partner or list their same-sex partner as a beneficiary, for example. If there is discrimination against gay men, these more observable individuals may bear a greater penalty. Further, the gay male penalty only usa rcs data occurs outside London, where there may be a stronger taste for discrimination. Finally, the bisexual male penalty only occurs in the private sector and not the public sector where there are greater protections against discrimination.
Taken together, then, and non-partnered sexual minorities and high quality data on earnings provide novel evidence supporting a role for specialisation in explaining sexual orientation-based differences in labour market earnings, with less evidence for selectivity and limited and mixed support for discrimination.
Our paper was first published as a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Working Paper and it received attention from international media and policy outlets, including the World Economic Forum, Quartz, IZA World of Labor, LSE Business Review and VOX, among others. This simply reflects the importance of the issue.