title: Occupational status of partnered gay men and lesbians in the Netherlands: How to explain the gap with men and women in heterosexual couples?
abstract: This study describes and explains the gap in occupational status between partnered homosexual and heterosexual (wo)men in the Netherlands. Thirteen waves of the Dutch Labor Force Surveys, including 875 partnered gay men and 901 partnered lesbians, have been analyzed with the Oaxaca decomposition method. Bivariate results show significantly higher occupational statuses among partnered gay compared to straight men and among partnered lesbian compared to straight women. Theoretical explanations for these gaps are (1) differences in endowments (distinguishing field of education, educational level, partner's education, marital status, and parenthood) and (2) differences in the strength of the effects of these factors. When the above determinants are kept constant, occupational status of (wo)men in same-sex couples does not significantly differ from that of (wo)men in different-sex couples. Different educational-next to other-endowments are the major explanation for the favorable occupational positions of partnered gay men and lesbians; in addition, less detrimental effects of parenthood for partnered lesbians partly explain their higher levels of occupational status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: E.Verbakel@maw.ru.nl.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Verbakel