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Transgender Status, Gender Identity, and Socioeconomic Outcomes in the United States

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  • Christopher S. Carpenter
  • Samuel T. Eppink
  • Gilbert Gonzales

Abstract

This article provides the first large-scale evidence on transgender status, gender identity, and socioeconomic outcomes in the United States, using representative data from 35 states in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which asked identical questions about transgender status and gender identity during at least one year from 2014 to 2017. More than 2,100 respondents, aged 18 to 64 years, identified as transgender. Individuals who identify as transgender are significantly less likely to be college educated and less likely to identify as heterosexual than are individuals who do not identify as transgender. Controlling for these and other observed characteristics, transgender individuals have significantly lower employment rates, lower household incomes, higher poverty rates, and worse self-rated health compared to otherwise similar men who are not transgender.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher S. Carpenter & Samuel T. Eppink & Gilbert Gonzales, 2020. "Transgender Status, Gender Identity, and Socioeconomic Outcomes in the United States," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(3), pages 573-599, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:73:y:2020:i:3:p:573-599
    DOI: 10.1177/0019793920902776
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    3. Olga Suhomlinova & Saoirse Caitlin O’Shea & Ilaria Boncori, 2024. "Rethinking gender diversity: Transgender and gender nonconforming people and gender as constellation," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1766-1785, September.
    4. Compton, Olivia, 2024. "A Transgender and Gender Diverse Critique of LGBTQ+ Economics," MPRA Paper 122465, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 16 Oct 2024.
    5. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río, 2024. "Poverty among same-sex couple families in the United States: Is there a premium for married couples?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 22(2), pages 495-517, June.
    6. Drydakis, Nick, 2021. "The Economics of Being LGBT. A Review: 2015-2020," IZA Discussion Papers 14845, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Gabriel J. Tanenbaum & LaTasha R. Holden, 2023. "A Review of Patient Experiences and Provider Education to Improve Transgender Health Inequities in the USA," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Lee, Maxine J. & Nettuno, Laura, 2022. "Economic Outcomes for Transgender People and Other Gender Minorities in the United States: First Estimates from a Nationally Representative Sample," IZA Discussion Papers 15116, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Ham, Andrés & Guarín, Ángela & Ruiz, Juanita, 2024. "How accurately are household surveys measuring the LGBT population in Colombia? Evidence from a list experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Brahma, Sanjukta & Gavriilidis, Konstantinos & Kallinterakis, Vasileios & Verousis, Thanos & Zhang, Mengyu, 2023. "LGBTQ and finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. Mann, Samuel, 2021. "Transgender employment and gender marker laws," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    12. Angela Matijczak & Jennifer W. Applebaum & Shanna K. Kattari & Shelby E. McDonald, 2021. "Social Support and Attachment to Pets Moderate the Association between Sexual and Gender Minority Status and the Likelihood of Delaying or Avoiding COVID-19 Testing," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, August.
    13. Nettuno, Laura, 2024. "Gender identity, labor market outcomes, and socioeconomic status: Evidence from Chile," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Campbell, Travis & Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen, 2023. "Conversion therapy, suicidality, and running away: An analysis of transgender youth in the U.S," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Kolk, Martin & Tilley, J. Lucas & von Essen, Emma & Moberg, Ylva & Burn, Ian, 2023. "The Demography of Sweden’s Transgender Population – Patterns, Changes, and Sociodemographics," Working Paper Series 7/2023, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    16. Ahmad, Husnain F & Banuri, Sheheryar & Bokhari, Farasat, 2024. "Discrimination in healthcare: A field experiment with Pakistan's transgender community," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    17. Christopher S. Carpenter & Maxine J. Lee & Laura Nettuno, 2022. "Economic outcomes for transgender people and other gender minorities in the United States: First estimates from a nationally representative sample," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 280-304, October.
    18. Taryn Eames, 2024. "Taryn versus Taryn (she/her) versus Taryn (they/them): A Field Experiment on Pronoun Disclosure and Hiring Discrimination," Working Papers tecipa-766, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    19. Shannon, Matthew, 2022. "The labour market outcomes of transgender individuals," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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