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Antidiscrimination Policies for Sexual Orientation . Marieka Klawitter Evans School of Public Affairs University of Washington marieka@u.washington.edu. Antidiscrimination Policies for Sexual orientation:.
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Antidiscrimination Policies for Sexual Orientation Marieka Klawitter Evans School of Public Affairs University of Washington marieka@u.washington.edu
Antidiscrimination Policies for Sexual orientation: • Adopted beginning in the 1970s by Cities, Counties, and States usually added sexual orientation to existing protections • Provide a process for addressing discrimination and could prevent discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, and wages • Could increase average earnings for sexual minorities by creating penalties or by increasing salience or changing norms • Policies covering only government workers may be less effective because of the preexisting civil service processes, they cover fewer workers, and may create less salience. • Policies covering private sector workers are likely to cover many more people in jobs with more discrimination
Antidiscrimination Policies for Sexual Orientation: • How many state and local policies are there? • Where have the policies been passed? • What factors help explain their passage? • What do we know about their impact?
What makes them more likely to pass?: • Political factors: Limited scope of debate and salience, framing as an incremental change to existing policy, policy entrepreneurs, advocacy resources all affect passage • Demographics: Policies more likely in local areas with more highly educated, more urban, less religious populations. • Adopted in places with higher average earnings for all workers • Adopted by states with local policies within, by local governments with nearby localities with policies.
Policy Impacts: • Complaints are brought under laws at slightly lower rates than for other minority groups. • State but not local policies are associated with higher average earnings for gay men in private sector employment, but no evidence of policy effects for lesbians • Evidence of impact of policies was greatest for white men working in private sector, for weeks of employment (not hourly earnings), and those in upper half of earnings distribution
Conclusions: • State and local antidiscrimination laws for sexual orientation continue to be adopted and continue to be used by many seeking fair treatment in employment • Effects on average earnings are small and limited to men in the private sector • State laws are more effective than are local laws • Passage of federal protections are likely to be even more effective given enforcement mechanisms and coverage expanded to less tolerant places • Other types of policies are required to improve labor market outcomes for people of color, women, those with lower education and pay