At the end of LGBTQIA+ pride month, it is important to remember that we still have a long way to go to become a civilized society, in which everyone can live their lives in peace, without cheap moralism. Discrimination is common in several dimensions, including the labor market, where what should matter is the productivity of each worker.
We associate same-sex couples with higher incomes, but this only happens for those who both work, have many years of formal education and do not have children; Heterosexual couples in these conditions are also among the richest in the country. The truth is that intolerance against the LGBTQIA+ community begins even before a person enters the job market.
Straight people are called for job interviews at a much higher rate than LGBTQIA+ candidates. There are numerous studies on the subject, being canonical the article by Tilcsik (2011), which finds heavy discrimination against gay candidates, especially when the job description includes male stereotypes. Worse, marginalization happens even when candidates do not declare themselves as LGBTQIA+, as it is common for HR to review competitors’ posts.
On average, companies begin the process of discrimination by classifying applicants for positions as heterosexual or not, without necessarily doing so explicitly. Intolerance also happens against lesbians, but the problem is not so serious for a distressing reason: Contractors believe that lesbian women are less likely to have children. Thus, discrimination against heterosexual women of childbearing age partially offsets that against lesbians (in some studies, authors find that partners in stable relationships earn more than other women because of this).
Getting a job is harder, but it gets worse. A meta-analysis by Klawitter (2015), which analyzes dozens of scientific studies, shows that gay or bisexual men earn 11% less than heterosexuals with the same characteristics (education, health, height, work experience, etc.). This result is confirmed by several more recent studies, such as Valfort (2017), Aksoy et al. (2018) and Burn (2019).
Results for transgender people are even more depressing, but the number of studies is small, due to the lack of data (until recently, most statistical institutes worldwide did not collect data on trans people).
It sucks that it’s harder to get a job and earn less when you get one, but it doesn’t end there. Badgett et al. (2021), in a study that reviews much of the scientific literature, show that LGBTQIA+ people do not have access to the same range of jobs and professions as the rest of the population.
To protect themselves, the community looks for professions that discriminate less and have less risk (from verbal and physical aggression, for example). But in whichever sector it is, it gets even worse. Aksoy and others (2019) show that competent LGBTQIA+ people are promoted to management positions at a much lower rate than expected; some companies hire minorities to fill quotas or get along with customers, but treat them like second-class citizens.
Being LGBTQIA+ means paying out of pocket to be able to live as you are. To change, we need to know the data. They are there. What are we going to do to bring Brazil into the 21st century?
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
