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JOSHUA LYNSEN
Friday, December 21, 2007
New analyses show that local same-sex couples often earn less than married men and women.
According to data recently released by the University of California’s Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation, married couples trump same-sex couples in nine of 16 categorical salary comparisons.
Gary Gates, a Williams Institute senior research fellow, said the analyses “break down some very common stereotypes” of gays.
“Same-sex couples are much more diverse than I think our media presentations would indicate,” he said.
The most significant differences emerged among Maryland couples with children. Analyses show those same-sex couples there earn $32,811 less on average than married couples, who make $91,383.
Among couples with children living in the District of Columbia, the discrepancy is less pronounced. Same-sex couples there make $16,123 less on average than married couples, who make $115,408.
“I think there’s a fair bit of evidence that same-sex couples with children really defy many of the stereotypes we think about when we think about same-sex couples raising kids,” Gates said.
Analyses show that 7.6 percent of the 3,678 same-sex couples living in D.C. have children under age 18, compared to 1.6 percent of married couples. In Maryland, 21 percent of the state’s 11,243 same-sex couples and 49 percent of its opposite-sex couples have children under age 18.
Gates said it’s possible that same-sex couples earn less than married couples because a large portion of same-sex couples with children are female couples, and women often earn less in the workplace.
“So when you’re talking about comparing incomes,” he said, “comparing two female incomes to a male and a female income, that’s one of the factors involved.”
As earners, married men and women also individually topped many of those in same-sex couples.
Married men living in Maryland earn $56,434 on average according to the analyses, which is about $13,700 more than the average salary of men in same-sex couples.
According to the analyses, the average salary among married men living in D.C. is $69,539, about $2,300 more than the average salary earned by same-sex coupled men living in D.C.
Gates said the finding is evidence that gay men are being discriminated against in the workplace.
“In all the studies I’ve seen, gay men, the best they can do is there’s no difference between them and other men’s wages,” he said. “But it’s a very persistent finding that they make less.”
Married women living in D.C. also earned $800 more on average than same-sex coupled women living in D.C. But same-sex coupled women living in Maryland on average did better than married women, earning $41,546 to $32,787.
Gates said one theory to explain the trend is that women in same-sex couples are less likely than married women to have children.
“So they’re less likely to have disruptions in their work career, and that could contribute to them having somewhat higher income and wages over time,” he said. “But there’s not a huge amount of research on this.”
Researchers at the Williams Institute have not yet compiled a comparable analysis for the estimated 13,802 same-sex couples living in Virginia.
The analyses also show that individuals in same-sex couples tend to be younger, better educated and more likely to be employed than men and women who are married.
According to the analyses, the average age of married men and women living in D.C. is 49, while the average age of those in same-sex couples is seven years younger.
On average, married men and women living in Maryland also are seven years older. The analyses show they are 48 years old, whereas individuals in same-sex couples are 41 years old.
Gates said researchers are still trying to determine the reason behind the age difference.
“It could be that coupling for gay people in general is beginning to happen at earlier ages,” he said. “But it could also be that older gay people are less likely to be coupled than their older, heterosexual counterparts. Obviously, the pool of people to couple with is arguably smaller than the pool for older, heterosexual people.”
Individuals in same-sex couples also tend to be better educated than married individuals.
About 64 percent of D.C. residents in same-sex couples have a college degree or better, compared to about 48 percent of D.C. residents who are married.
In Maryland, 48 percent of individuals in same-sex couples have a college degree or better, while 36 percent of people who are married hold such degrees.
“Maybe we could say it’s because gay people are smarter,” Gates said with a laugh. “It could be that gay people have higher levels of education because if you’re 18 and debating what to do with your life, you might decide you want to get a college education to hedge against future discrimination. So there’s that motivation.”
Gates said the better education could help explain why individuals in same-sex couples are likelier to be employed than their married counterparts, another finding in the analyses.
About 85 percent of individuals in same-sex couples living in D.C. are employed, compared to about 63 percent of married men and women. In Maryland, 80 percent of people in same-sex couples are employed while 70 percent of married men and women are employed.
“Part of that is also due to the age,” he said. “They are younger.”
Gates said the analyses also show that same-sex couples are more racially diverse, include more veterans of the armed forces and have a higher rate of home ownership than is commonly perceived.
Among all D.C. residents who are in same-sex couples, about 25 percent are black and 4 percent are Hispanic. In Maryland, about 18 percent of people in same-sex couples are black and 4 percent are Hispanic.
About 8 percent of the people in D.C. and Maryland who are in same-sex couples have veteran status, and an average of 65 percent of those couples are homeowners.
Gates said such findings, insightful in their own right, also are helpful as lobbying tools.
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