Are gay men discriminated against by employers? Yes, according to a new study which appears in the Journal of Labor Research.

The study, co-authored by Bruce Elmslie, professor of economics at UNH Whittemore and Edinaldo Tebaldi of Bryant University in Rhode Island, contains an in-depth analysis of wage and labor data collected by the U.S. Census in March 2004. The dataset represents over 91,000 heterosexual and homosexual couples.

According to the authors, gay men who live together earn 23 percent less than married men, and 9 percent less than unmarried heterosexual men who live with a woman. Discrimination is most pronounced in management and blue-collar, male-dominated occupations such as building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; construction and extraction; and production.

The authors also found that lesbians are not discriminated against when compared with heterosexual women. They conclude that while negative attitudes toward lesbians could affect them, lesbians may benefit from the perception that they are more career-focused and less likely to leave the labor market to raise children than heterosexual women. According to their study, 18.1 percent of lesbians have children, compared with 49.4 percent of straight women.

Within the study, the authors suggest that employer disapproval of the gay lifestyle, fears about offending customers and concerning the transmission of HIV/AIDS may be affecting hiring and salary decisions. While these are certainly plausible theories, the data they examined does not truly provide any information regarding these potential causes, and more research is needed to justify their assertions.

I believe this study raises more questions than it answers, but the data revealed remains of interest, regardless of the whys.

I’ve long been disturbed that even in 2007, salary and position inequalities still exist between men and women, but until now, I hadn’t realized that homosexual men were affected as well. Gay couples already face unique retirement challenges, and compensation inequities only exacerbate the issue.

Gay men can earn 23 pct less than married men: study [Reuters UK]
New Research Finds Gay Men, But Not Lesbians, Are Discriminated Against in Some Jobs [UNH Media Relations]

If you are seeking your own health insurance outside of an employer plan, your weight has a lot to do with the premium you’ll pay as well as your ability to even qualify for insurance. Insurance companies find this to be logical. Overweight individuals account for a higher percentage of health-related costs than they should, all other things being equal.

From the New York Times:

Heavy people do not spend more than normal-size people on food, but their life insurance premiums are two to four times as large. They can expect higher medical expenses, and they tend to make less money and accumulate less wealth in their shortened lifetimes. They can have a harder time being hired, and then a harder time winning plum assignments and promotions…

Complications from obesity, particularly diabetes, which afflicts 21 million Americans, push up the bill: $44,000 for a heart attack, $40,200 for a stroke or $37,000 for end-state kidney disease…

As the cost of group health care increases for corporations, many companies are looking for ways to cut costs. One way to do so is to encourage a healthier lifestyle among employees. In my company, there are a number of programs available to employees who are looking for ways to improve their health. Some companies, in addition to offering employee assistance programs, are beginning to set health insurance premiums, or the percentage of these premiums paid by the employee rather than the employer, by a measure of weight.

The body-mass index (BMI) is one such measure being used to determine how much an employee should pay for their portion of the company’s group insurance plan. The reasoning is simple: overweight individuals cost the company more in health insurance costs. But is this discrimination?

The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric will be running a feature on this issue tomorrow night. This week, the program will focus on obesity in America. The series is called “Forced to Be Fit;” segments to be aired Tuesday through Thursday will take a look at ways people in this country are being encouraged to lose the extra pounds, whether they want to be or not.

Extra Weight, Higher Costs [New York Times]