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Pink Papers: LGBT Economics

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, Meeting Room 405
Hosted By: American Economic Association
  • Chair: Sergei Guriev, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Behavioral Prescriptions in the Labor Market

Marina Gorsuch
,
St. Catherine University

Abstract


A broad literature has established that laboratory respondents prefer women who behave in traditionally feminine ways in the workplace to those who behave in traditionally masculine ways. This is referred to as the "backlash effect." This pattern of behavior has serious implications in the labor market - for example, female job applicants negotiate less than male job applicants and report a lower ceiling on how much they can ask for in a negotiation without being seen as overly demanding.

In this study, I examine two questions at the intersection of the literature on the backlash effect and discrimination based on sexual orientation. First, I test whether the backlash effect varies by the sexual orientation of the job applicant. Second, I examine if the main effect of sexual orientation discrimination varies by the sex of the job applicant.

To examine these two questions, I created resumes that were manipulated on sex, perceived sexual orientation, and whether the resume used traditionally masculine or feminine adjectives. I find that male respondents evaluated perceived-heterosexual women who used feminine adjectives more positively than when they used masculine adjectives. However, the resumes of perceived-gay women and perceived-heterosexual men were both immune to this effect. This suggests that heterosexual women experience the backlash effect, while gay women do not. Second, I found that male resumes with an LGBT activity were evaluated negatively on numerous personality characteristics and their work history was viewed as less useful when compared to a resume with an identical work history. However, this did not occur for female resumes with an LGBT activity.

These two findings highlight the importance of considering the intersection of sex and sexual orientation when examining different types of labor market discrimination. The backlash effect predominantly impacts heterosexual women, while discrimination based on sexual orientation predominantly impacts gay men.

Sexual Orientation, Competitiveness and Income

Thomas Buser
,
University of Amsterdam
Lydia Geijtenbeek
,
University of Amsterdam
Erik Plug
,
University of Amsterdam

Abstract

Do gays earn less than other men because they are less competitive? Do
lesbians earn more than other women because they are more competitive? To
answer these questions, we conduct an experiment on a Dutch online survey
panel to measure the competitive preferences of gay, lesbian and straight panel members. We find that gay men compete less than straight men, while lesbians compete as much as straight women. Linking our experimental measure of competitiveness to earnings, we find that competitiveness predicts earnings and that differences in competitive preferences can partially explain the gay earnings penalty but not the lesbian premium.

Do Laws Shape Attitudes? Evidence from Same-Sex Relationship Recognition Policies in Europe

Cevat Aksoy
,
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter
,
Vanderbilt University
Ralph De Haas
,
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Kevin Tran
,
DIW Berlin

Abstract

Understanding whether laws shape or simply reflect citizens’ attitudes is important but empirically difficult. We provide new evidence on this question by studying the effects of legal same-sex relationship recognition policies (SSRRPs) on attitudes toward sexual minorities in Europe. Using data from the European Social Surveys covering 2002-2016 and exploiting variation in the timing of SSRRPs across countries, we show that legal relationship recognition is associated with statistically significant improvements in attitudes toward sexual minorities. These effects are widespread across demographic groups, emerge only after the policies are adopted, and are not observed for views about other minority groups or social issues. Our results suggest that laws can exert a powerful influence in shaping societal attitudes.
Discussant(s)
Mike Mueller-Smith
,
University of Michigan
Ralph De Haas
,
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Nathaniel Young
,
EBRD
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics
  • J7 - Labor Discrimination