by M. V.  Lee Badgett, Ph.D.

Are lesbian, gay, and bisexual people highly vulnerable to unwarranted and harmful treatment in the workplace, or are they a comfortable and privileged group without the need for legal protection in matters of employment?

Public debate over this question has raged in the context of proposed legislation that would outlaw employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Nondiscrimination bills have been considered in recent years in more than eighteen states and in the United States Congress. Currently, most workers have no legal protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. If a hard-working lesbian is fired for being gay (or if a heterosexual woman is fired for being heterosexual), she has no legal recourse in most of the United States.¹

Much of the debate over these bills concerns how often gay workers are not hired, not promoted, paid less, harassed, or fired because of their sexual orientation. People in favor of protections for gay people in the workplace present individuals who tell personal stories of discrimination.² Some argue that the amount of discrimination is not important as long as any discrimination occurs. Opponents of civil rights for gay people argue that the evidence of such discrimination is weak and that gay organizations exaggerate the problem:

"Only isolated instances of employment discrimination exist with homosexuality."³

"Homosexual households had an average income of $55,400 compared with a national average of $36,500. ...This is not the profile of a group in need of special civil rights legislation... It is the profile of an elite."⁴

Determining whether there is anti-gay discrimination in the U.S. requires more than anecdote and assertion. Unfortunately, little systematic research exists. However, a review of recent academic research and organizational publications uncovers several important new studies. An analysis and comparison of those studies identifies several important findings:

ð Between 1/4 and 2/3 of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people report experiences of losing jobs or promotions because of their sexual orientation

ð Gay people in supposedly tolerant professions, such as law, medicine and academia, report discrimination.

ð Using accurate data and methods to compare incomes clearly demonstrates that gay people do not earn more than heterosexuals.

ð Studies comparing gay and heterosexual workers with the same qualifications often find that gay workers earn less than heterosexuals because of discrimination.

ð The only reports of gay people earning higher-than-average incomes are based on marketing surveys of higher income gay people (mostly men) that cannot be generalized to all gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.

These findings support the view that employment discrimination against gay people is both common and economically harmful.

Survey evidence of discrimination

A 1992 study that summarized a national survey and twenty city and state surveys of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, reveals common and consistent patterns: ⁵

ð Gay people reported experiences of anti-gay workplace discrimination in every survey. From 16 to 44% said they had faced such job discrimination at some time in their life.

ð The majority of survey respondents reported that they feared discrimination or concealed their sexual orientation to try to avoid such discrimination.

ð Respondents reported barriers to hiring, harassment, negative evaluations, denial of promotions, and termination.

Since this 1992 study, additional surveys have included information on workplace discrimination. These newer surveys focus on specific cities (Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Louisville) and particular professions (law, medicine, and academia). In each of the more recent surveys, the findings echo the earlier studies.

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NOTES:
1. Currently, only 11 states (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin), the District of Columbia, and some cities forbid employers to engage in anti-gay discrimination.  [ Go Back ]
2. See, for example, the testimony of Cheryl Summerville and Ernest Dillon and Appendices I and III in Hearing of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, 103rd Congress, 2nd session, on S. 2238, to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, July 29, 1994, Government Printing Office, Washington.   [ Go Back ]
3. Paul T. Mero, "Civil Rights and Sexual Behavior: An Analysis of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act," Insight, Family Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994, p. 8.  [ Go Back ]
4. Joseph E. Broadus, Testimony against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994, July 29, 1994.  [ Go Back ]
5. Lee Badgett, Colleen Donnelly, and Jennifer Kibbe, "Pervasive Patterns of Discrimination Against Lesbians and Gay Men: Evidence from Surveys Across the United States," National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, 1992.  [ Go Back ]