Did you know that lesbians tend to make more money than straight women? It’s a phenomenon known as the lesbian wage premium, and recently 31-year-old Aria Velz (@ariavelz) shared a video explaining exactly why this may be — and it’s honestly fascinating. In the video, Aria says that for years social scientists have observed that lesbians consistently outearn straight women. According to a meta-analysis of 30 international studies, gay women earn an average of 9% more than straight women with variations by country. If true, the question is what could be the reason? Velz has some answers. One could be that lesbians tend to be more educated than straight women. She suggested others, including lesbians are less likely to have children, live more predominantly in cities, and have more professional jobs. Then Aria reaches the hypothesis that the lesbian wage premium could be directly tied to the kinds of gendered expectations that are often placed on heterosexual women. Generally in heterosexual couples, the women are more likely to be the primary child rearer and family caretaker, and they’re more likely to take up the domestic labor responsibilities at home, meaning that women will often have to make the trade-off for advancing their career. But in lesbian couples, household labor tends to be more equally divided so neither partner has to sacrifice their work.
