Human Rights Campaign Foundation Releases New Data on the LGBTQ+ Wage Gap

LGBTQ+ workers in the United States earn approximately 90 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns

WASHINGTON - January 19, 2022 - Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released new data outlining the pay disparities of LGBTQ+ workers with a particular emphasis on the disproportionate wage gap that transgender, non-binary and LGBTQ+ people of color face.

The 2021 LGBTQ+ Community survey, administered by Community Marketing & Insights and supported by the HRC Foundation, found full-time LGBTQ+ workers earned about $900 weekly, which is 90% of what the typical worker earns in the U.S. Put another way, LGBTQ+ workers earn about 90 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns. LGBTQ+ people of color, transgender women and men and non-binary individuals earn the least when compared to their white or cisgender LGBTQ+ peers.

"Despite decades of work to achieve equal pay for equal work, LGBTQ+ workers continue to earn less than their heterosexual and cisgender peers and discrimination throughout the workforce-in hiring, salaries, and promotions-is likely playing a large role," said Jay Brown, Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President of Programs, Research and Training. "It is possible that wage disparities may be even larger than what is reported here because our analyses focused just on full-time employed workers, and did not account for wages among part-time workers, or non-wage earners. Earning less impacts every facet of our lives - including access to housing, healthcare and food security-and must be addressed head on."

Comparing these findings to wage estimates released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, HRC Foundation found that LGBTQ+ people of color earn less than all white workers-replicating trends in racial disparities seen in the broader workforce. Specifically, Native American LGBTQ+ and Black LGBTQ+ workers earn the least among LGBTQ+ workers by race.

• Native American LGBTQ+ workers earn 70 cents for every dollar the typical worker earns.
• Black LGBTQ+ workers earn about 80 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.
• Latinx LGBTQ+ workers earn about 90 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.
• White LGBTQ+ workers earn about 97 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.
• Asian/Asian Pacific Islanders LGBTQ+ workers earn about $1.00 for every dollar that the typical worker earns-in other words, they earn approximately the same.

Furthermore, LGBTQ+ working women, who have similar earnings to all women, earn less than all men and LGBTQ+ working men. Additionally, transgender people, and non-binary, genderqueer, and two-spirit workers earn significantly less than working men and women.

• Women in the LGBTQ+ community earn about 87 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.
• Non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid and two-spirit workers earned about 70 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.

Compounding that disparity, LGBTQ+ women of color and transgender people especially, suffer the widest wage gap among multiply marginalized identities in the U.S.

• LGBTQ+ Latinx women earn about 72 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.
• LGBTQ+ Black women earn 85 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns. Transgender men earn about 70 cents for every dollar that the typical worker earns.
• Transgender women earn about 60 cents for every dollar the typical worker earns.

This data is the newest research in a long line of HRC Foundation's reports that brings awareness to the status of LGBTQ+ people and economic disparities, "The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ Community," and "The Economic Impact of COVID-19 Intensifies for Transgender and LGBTQ Communities of Color," showed that transgender people, especially transgender people of color, are more likely to face negative economic consequences as a result of the virus. These economic disparities have been acutely felt during the pandemic, but prior to the onset of COVID-19, nearly one in ten LGBTQ+ people were unemployed. In the first quarter of 2021, HRC and PSB research found that unemployment among LGBTQ+ people increased to 22% of LGBTQ+ adults and 24% of LGBTQ+ adults of color.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public's understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our impact and shape the future of our work.