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Gay pay for straight work

Wages in Canadian labour market stratified by sexual orientation

Published: 19 May 2015

Canada has been a leader in providing employment protections for sexual minorities and social acceptance of non-heterosexuals has increased significantly in Canada. But, despite this and the 2005 decision by the federal government to legalize same-sex marriage across the county, gay men and lesbians are economically disadvantaged in the Canadian labor market, relative to heterosexual men, say researchers from ɬ﷬.

Using Canadian census data from 2006 ɬ﷬ PhD Candidates in Sociology, Sean Waite and Nicole Denier, report in the journal Gender and Society, wage gaps in the Canadian labour market are stratified by sexual orientation.

Share lines/Highlights:

  • Coupled gay men earn about 5% less than coupled heterosexual men; whereas, coupled lesbians earn 9% less than coupled heterosexual men.
  • Wage gaps reduced and/or eliminated for sexual minorities relative to heterosexual men in the public sector.
  • Wage gaps vary significantly across occupations. Some of the largest wage gaps are concentrated in the highest paid occupations, such as management and business and finance occupations

For more information:

"GayPay for Straight Work: Mechanisms Generating Disadvantage by Sean Waite and Nicole Denieris published in Gender & Society:

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