A person 's sexual orientation can determine how much money they will earn according to a new report that claims gay men face discrimination from employers . Based on the personal information provided by over 10,000 people in the 2012 Household , Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia ( HILDA ) Survey , the report states that lesbians earn 33 per cent more than heterosexual women . However the reason for the extra pay is due to the survey sample noting that they work about 20 per cent more hours , the University of Melbourne 's Mark Wooden said . Based on the personal information provided by over 10,000 people in the 2012 Household , Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia ( HILDA ) Survey , the report states that lesbians earn 33 per cent more than heterosexual women . 'One explanation for the increased earnings and longer work hours of lesbians might be that this group are less likely to have children than heterosexual women , ' he said . The HILDA Survey recorded that only 22 per cent of lesbian women between the ages of 30 and 49 had children three years ago , compared to almost 60 per cent of straight women . Gay men on the other hand , were found to earn about 20 per cent less than heterosexual men due to a lower rate of earnings ' growth . The gap in pay only worsened for those who lived with a partner , despite lesbians living with their significant other recording higher wages than those without . 'We found that the wages of gay men are growing at a much slower rate than the wages of heterosexual males , ' Prof Wooden said . University of Melbourne 's ( pictured ) Mark Wooden said gay men were found to earn about 20 per cent less than heterosexual men due to a lower rate of earnings ' growth . 'Gay males who are most likely to be observably gay by employers—those who live with a same-sex partner—face larger earnings penalties than those who are discreet about their sexuality . ' The report added that 'gay men are 16 per cent less likely to be employed and are substantially more likely to have several periods of joblessness than heterosexual men ' . Although admitting that numerous factors contribute to the varying earnings across sexual orientation , Professor Wooden admitted that 'employer discrimination is likely a major part of the explanation for these wage gaps , especially in the case of gay men ' . The findings are outlined in the Sexual Identity , Earnings , and Labour Market Dynamics : New Evidence from Longitudinal Data in Australia report .
Lesbians earn 33 % more than heterosexual woman and work 20 % more . This is believed to be because they were less likely to have sex . transgender men were found to earn about 20 % less than heterosexual men due to a lower rate of gender inequality . The data is based on the data provided by over 10,000 people in the 2012 Household , Income and Labour Dynamics in ##dices ( HILDA ) Survey .