Women’s Sexual Orientation & Labor Market Outcomes Dr Drydakis Nick PhD in Economics
Forthcoming in Feminist
Economics
Work Address Department of Accounting and Finance, Athens University of Economics and Business, 76 Patision Str, 104 34, Athens, Greece Department of Economics, University of Piraeus, 80 Karaoli and Dimitriou Str, 18534, Piraeus, Greece Department of Public Administration, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, 136 Syggrou Avenue, email:
[email protected]
Abstract: This study relies on a field experiment to provide the first evidence on the relationship between women being lesbian and their hiring prospects in Greece. The data analyzed supports the findings of previous experiments, indicating that lesbians face hiring discrimination. The estimated probability of lesbian applicants receiving an invitation for an interview is 27.7 percentage points lower than that for heterosexual applicant. More importantly, entry wage differentials assigned are inconsistent with the ascendant empirical claims that lesbians have higher market earnings. The negative effect of lesbian sexual orientation is 6.1%. Given the legal actions in Greece that have the potential to affect sexual orientation minorities, it is important to understand the relationships between sexual orientation and labor market.
Key words: Field Experiment, Sexual Orientation, Hiring Discrimination, Wage Discrimination, Probit Model, OLS Model, Interaction Effects JEL classification: C93, J7, J16, J31, J42, J64, J71, J82
We acknowledge assistance from three anonymous referees, the associate-editor, and the editor whose comments and suggestions have significantly contributed to the improvement of previous versions of this paper.
