Women's Sexual Orientation and Labor Market Outcomes in Greece

This study is the first to use a field experiment to provide information on the relationship between women being lesbian and their hiring prospects in Greece. Data for 2007-8 support previous findings (in Canada and Austria) indicating that lesbians face hiring discrimination. The study finds that the estimated probability of lesbian applicants receiving an invitation for an interview is 27.7 percent lower than that for heterosexual women applicants. More importantly, the study shows that entry wage differentials assigned are inconsistent with the ascendant empirical claims (from the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) that lesbians have higher market earnings. The study concludes that the negative effect of lesbian sexual orientation on wage outcomes in Greece is 6.1 percent. Given that legal actions in Greece have the potential to affect sexual-orientation minorities, it is important to understand the relationships between sexual orientation and the labor market.