The gap

According to a 2015 University of Washington study, gay men on average earn less than straight men: 12-16 percent in Canada and America and 5 percent less in France and Britain. The study also reveals that in Canada, America, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, lesbians earn 9 percent more than straight women.

Why? One possibility is employers expect lesbians to be more competitive and committed to work than their straight female colleagues. Lesbians too have fewer career interruptions like child rearing, and work the same work week as heterosexual men: On average seven to 10 hours a week longer than straight, married women.