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The incidence of self-employment by sexual orientation

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  • Karen Leppel

    (Widener University)

Abstract

This study uses data from the American Community Survey to address three questions concerning the relationships between sexual orientation and self-employment. First, does the propensity of self-employment vary with sexual orientation? The study found that the individuals most likely to be self-employed were heterosexual men, followed by gay men, then lesbians, and lastly heterosexual women. Second, do the impacts of explanatory variables on the odds of being self-employed differ with sexual orientation? Multinomial logit estimation revealed that, in particular, the effects of married and unmarried partners’ income varied with the gender/sexual orientation group. Third, among employed individuals, does incidence of self-employment across occupations differ with sexual orientation? According to the analysis, heterosexual men showed a significantly higher incidence of self-employment than gay men in three occupation categories, while gay men had higher rates in two occupation groups. Lesbians had higher incidences of self-employment in all four occupation categories that exhibited significant sexual orientation differences among the women.

Suggested Citation

  • Karen Leppel, 2016. "The incidence of self-employment by sexual orientation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 347-363, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:46:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-016-9699-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-016-9699-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher Jepsen & Lisa K. Jepsen, 2017. "Self-employment, earnings, and sexual orientation," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 287-305, March.
    2. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2018. "Sexual Orientation, Labour Earnings, and Household Income in Canada," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 41-55, March.
    3. Rony Germon & Séverine Leloarne & Myriam Razgallah & Myriam Razgallah & Adnane Maalaoui, 2019. "The Role of Sexual Orientation in Entrepreneurial Intention: The Case of Parisian LGB People," Working Papers 2019-007, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    4. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2019. "Sexual orientation and the ‘cohabitation gap’ in life satisfaction in Canada," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1163-1189, December.
    5. Klavs Ciprikis & Damien Cassells & Jenny Berrill, 2024. "Transgender self-employment outcomes: evidence from the USA," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 871-896, October.

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