This study analyzes wage disparities among LGBTQ+ individuals using "Human Capital Theory" and "Intersectionality Theory". A survey of U.S. adults and multinomial logistic regression are used to test whether LGBTQ+ workers face wage penalties even after controlling for education and experience, and how job insecurity makes these disadvantages worse. The results show that when jobs are stable, the gap is small, but when job insecurity is high, LGBTQ+ individuals are much more likely to fall into the lowest wage group. In other words, wage inequality is most severe when LGBTQ+ identity and job insecurity overlap. Such low wages are not only about unfairness at work. They also weaken household finances, limit access to basic needs such as housing, food, and healthcare, and make it harder to save for retirement or build long-term security. This study shows that wage inequality is not only a labor market issue but also a structural problem that harms consumer and family well-being.
Author(s): Jake G. Zavala Zavala, Hye-Jun Park, Wookjae Heo
