IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A study of Canadian gay men found 12 percent have lower personal incomes than heterosexual men, researchers said.
For the study, Christopher S. Carpenter of The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California Irvine used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey which includes standard demographic questions as well as self-reports on sexual orientation.
The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Economics, also found lesbians have 15 percent higher personal incomes than heterosexual men and women.
Similar to gay and straight differences in the United States, gay men and lesbians in Canada are more likely to live in urban areas and more highly educated than heterosexuals in Canada, the study said.
"This is the first work to document statistically and economically meaningful differentials associated with sexual orientation in Canada," Carpenter said in a statement. "The long-term significance of the study will be to further the call for more research into the causes and consequences of gay/straight differences in Canada and elsewhere."
