Sexual orientation and self-employment: New evidence.

Early studies and theory suggest sexual minorities are drawn towards the relative independence of self-employment to avoid discrimination in paid employment. However, recent evidence is mixed, suggesting that a higher propensity for self-employment (relative to heterosexual people) is found only among lesbian women relative to heterosexual women. This study overcomes the data limitations of prior research by using data pooled from 2007-2017 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and multivariate logistic regression to provide new evidence on LGB self-employment. The results show that self-employment is particularly high for bisexual people, especially bisexual women-but not for gay men or lesbian women. Overall, this study examines the enduring but nuanced relationship between self-employment and sexual orientation and discusses countervailing factors related to socio-economic resources, gender, and family structure.

Des recherches et des théories antérieures suggèrent que les minorités sexuelles sont attirées par l'indépendance relative du travail indépendant pour éviter la discrimination dans l'emploi rémunéré. Cependant, les preuves récentes sont mitigées, suggérant que la propension plus élevée à l'emploi indépendant (par rapport aux personnes hétérosexuelles) ne se retrouve que chez les femmes lesbiennes par rapport aux femmes hétérosexuelles. Cette étude surmonte les limites des données des recherches antérieures en utilisant des données regroupées des cycles 2007-2017 de l'Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes (ESCC) et une régression logistique multivariée pour fournir de nouvelles preuves sur le travail indépendant des LGB. Les résultats montrent que le travail indépendant est particulièrement élevé pour les personnes bisexuelles, notamment les femmes bisexuelles-mais pas pour les hommes gays ou les femmes lesbiennes. Dans l'ensemble, cette étude examine la relation durable mais nuancée entre l'emploi indépendant et l'orientation sexuelle et discute des facteurs compensatoires liés aux ressources socio-économiques, au sexe et à la structure familiale.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Employment Discrimination and Workplace Harassment against Transgender and Other Minority Employees in Canada's Federal Public Service.

There is a growing literature interested in the workplace experiences of transgender individuals. The biggest limitation for researchers in this field continues to be the dearth of population-level data that captures information on gender identity and employment characteristics. Using the 2017 Public Service Employee Survey, this paper explores employment discrimination and workplace harassment against gender diverse (transgender, non-binary, genderqueer) and other minority employees working in Canada's federal public service. This study finds that gender diverse employees are between 2.2 and 2.5 times more likely to experience discrimination and workplace harassment than their cisgender male coworkers. Cisgender women, visible minorities, Indigenous, and those with disabilities are also more likely to report discrimination and workplace harassment. Cisgender women and gender diverse employees who occupy multiple minority statuses may experience an additive likelihood of discrimination and harassment. This study also finds that employee retention can be improved by providing more inclusive and tolerant workplaces.

A systematic review and thematic synthesis of Canada's LGBTQ2S+ employment, labour market and earnings literature.

BACKGROUND: The last two decades have witnessed a considerable growth in the literature focusing on LGBTQ2S+ employment, labour market inequality, and income. During the same period, Canada has emerged as a trailblazer in employment protections for both sexual and gender minorities. Unfortunately, the Canadian literature on LGBTQ2S+ employment outcomes and experiences is disperse and underdeveloped. OBJECTIVE: This paper brings together this disperse research and provides the first systematic review of Canada's LGBTQ2S+ employment and earnings literature. METHODS: We start with a systematic review and thematic synthesis of the broadly defined literature on LGBTQ2S+ poverty in Canada. We use a thematic synthesis to isolate the LGBTQ2S+ literature on employment, labour market inequality, and earnings. Our search of electronic databases took place in April 2018 and was updated in January 2019. RESULTS: A total of 532 abstracts and full texts were screened by reviewers, which resulted in 84 articles included in our final sample. These articles were then sorted by keywords and those pertaining to employment, labour market inequality, and income (n = 31) were included in this analysis. While estimates of sexual minority wage gaps vary depending on the data and methods used, most studies have found wage penalties for gay men and wage premiums for lesbians, relative to their heterosexual counterparts. The literature on bisexual employment is particularly scant but finds that bisexual men and women also earn less than their heterosexual counterparts. Research on the subjective workplace experiences of LGBTQ2S+ individuals find unique challenges, barriers and, at times, exclusion from the Canadian labour market. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: While the literature on LGBTQ2S+ employment outcomes and experiences in Canada is growing, much is left unknown. The principal limitation for researchers continues to be the dearth of population-based surveys that include questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, and relevant employment characteristics. To date, few studies have explored employment outcomes or the subjective workplace experiences of bisexuals, transgender, two-spirit or other gender minority peoples.

A Research Note on Canada's LGBT Data Landscape: Where We Are and What the Future Holds.

There is a growing international literature on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. One of the biggest limitations for researchers in this field continues to be the dearth of population-based surveys that include questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, and high-quality demographic, health, social, political, or economic variables. This research note provides an overview of the current LGBT data landscape in Canada. We start with some of the challenges for researchers studying the LGBT community, including issues of sample size, measurement, response bias, and concealment. Next, we provide an overview of Canadian surveys that include questions on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, including the strengths and weaknesses of each. We end with a brief discussion on newly available administrative data and provide recommendations for researchers and policymakers moving forward.

Gender differences in the earnings produced by a middle range education: The case of Canadian 'colleges'.

In this paper we use data on consecutive cohorts of recent graduates from community colleges or community college-like institutions to address the following questions about the gender earnings gap: i) What was the trend in the gender earnings gap for these recent graduates? ii) What role in the observed trends in the gender earnings gap was played by occupational demand? iii) How and to what extent did the domestic division of labour contribute to the gender earnings gap in this young sample? We find that the gap fell then rose, that occupational demand played a role in these shifts, and that the domestic division of labour did indeed contribute to the gap in this young sample. Furthermore, our results point to a process of cumulation of factors that increase the earnings gap which has both substantive and methodological implications.

Self-Employment among Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Couples in Canada.

This study presents novel evidence on the relationship between sexual orientation and self-employment. Using data from the 2001 and 2006 Census of Canada and the 2011 Canadian National Household Survey, we explore the propensity for self-employment among same- and opposite-sex couples. We examine the demographic, human capital, and family characteristics of coupled gay men and lesbians relative to their coupled heterosexual counterparts to offer potential mechanisms generating differences in rates of self-employment. Our analysis further considers occupational variability in the likelihood of self-employment. We find that gay men are less likely and lesbians more likely than heterosexuals to be self-employed; however, there is significant variation across occupations. Gay men are more likely to be self-employed in arts and culture, sales and service, and natural and applied sciences, but less likely in business, finance, and health-related occupations. Lesbians are much more likely to be self-employed in health-related occupations, natural and applied sciences, and arts and culture. Marriage and having children are significant predictors of self-employment for coupled heterosexual women but not lesbians. Cette étude présente des évidences empiriques concernant la relation entre l'orientation sexuelle et le travail indépendant. Utilisant des données provenant du Recensement du Canada de 2001 et de 2006, ainsi que l'Enquête nationale auprès des ménages (ENM) de 2011, nous explorons la tendance du travail indépendant parmi les couples de même sexe et ceux de sexe opposé. Ainsi, nous examinons les caractéristiques démographiques, du capital humain et familiales des couples gais et lesbiens par rapport à leurs homologues hétérosexuels, afin de démontrer une corrélation entre l'orientation sexuelle et la probabilité d'être travailleur indépendant - une causation qui nous semble évident et que nous analysons plus en profondeur. Nous concluons d'ailleurs que les hommes gais sont moins probables - et les lesbiennes plus probables - d'être travailleurs indépendants que les hétérosexuels. Cependant, il existe des variantes significatives entre les différentes occupations. Les hommes homosexuels tendent plutôt à être travailleurs indépendants dans les domaines des arts et de la culture, la vente et les services, ainsi que les sciences pures et les sciences naturelles. Par contre, ils le sont moins dans les domaines des affaires, de la finance et des domaines reliés à la santé. De leur côté, les femmes homosexuelles tendent plutôt à être travailleuses indépendantes dans les domaines reliés à la santé, aux sciences pures et aux sciences naturelles, ainsi qu'aux arts et la culture. Finalement, le fait d'être marié et d'avoir des enfants sont des indicateurs significatifs du travail indépendant pour les femmes en couples hétérosexuels, mais pas pour les lesbiennes.

Does it get better? A quasi-cohort analysis of sexual minority wage gaps.

With few exceptions, it has been found that gay men earn less and lesbians earn more than their heterosexual counterparts. Most of the current literature has used single cross-sectional datasets to test possible sources of these wage differentials. This study adds to this literature by presenting a theoretical framework, grounded in gender theory, to explore: (a) whether sexual minority wage gaps have attenuated over the last decade, (b) whether wage gaps vary by age group, and (c) if wage gaps vary with duration in the labor market. Using Canadian census and survey data, this study finds no evidence that wage gaps have attenuated for gay men and only small reductions for lesbians and heterosexual women, relative to heterosexual men. Wage gaps are larger for younger gay men than for older gay men, which may suggest a "coming out penalty". The lesbian wage premium, vis-á-vis heterosexual women, does not appear at initial labor market entry; rather it develops with duration in the labour market.