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Earnings differentials associated with sexual orientation in the Pakistan labour market

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Abdul Wahid ,
Edmund H Mantell  and
Oskar Kowalewski
Abdul Wahid
Affiliation:
National University of Modern Languages, Pakistan
Edmund H Mantell*
Affiliation:
Pace University, USA
Oskar Kowalewski
Affiliation:
IÉSEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 - LEM - Lille Économie Management, France Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
*
Edmund H Mantell, Department of Finance and Economics, Lubin School of Business, Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, New York, NY 10038-1598, USA. Email: Emantell@pace.edu
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Abstract

This study addresses the question of whether self-identified LGBT status has some power to explain differences between the earnings of male LGTB workers and their occupational counterpart non-LGBT male workers in the Pakistan labour market. The Pakistan labour market is known to be ‘traditional’ in the sense that its operations and the attitudes of participants reflect the confluence of various sociological, political, religious, cultural and patriarchal systems. However, the quantitative significance, if any, of overt sexual orientation and its correlation with earnings remains unclear. This study addresses that question. We find that employed male workers in our sample who are known to be (or thought by employers to be) members of the LGBT community experience significant earnings disadvantages relative to counterpart heterosexual workers.

Keywords

J71Sexual orientationTraditional Labour Marketwage differentials
Type
Original Articles
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 33 , Issue 4 , December 2022 , pp. 754 - 765
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022

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