Rainbow-Collar Jobs? Occupational Segregation by Sexual Orientation in the United States

Abstract

Lesbian and gay workers hold different occupations than straight workers, partly reflecting lesbian and gay workers’ tendency to avoid same-gender-dominated occupations. Previous studies have grappled with significant data limitations, obscuring patterns for bisexual workers and potentially biasing estimates of occupational segregation by sexual orientation. In this study the author addresses these limitations using large-scale, nationally representative data from the 2013–2018 National Health Interview Survey. Occupational segregation by sexual orientation is stronger among men than women. Within gender, lesbian/gay and bisexual workers are as segregated from each other as they are from straight workers. These differences are structured by both occupational gender composition and education: occupational segregation by sexual orientation is greatest among less educated workers and when correlated with occupational gender composition. These findings contribute to a more detailed empirical description of labor market inequalities by sexual orientation and offer some empirical puzzles for further theoretical development.