We examine change in multiple indicators of gender inequality for the period of 1970 to 2018. The percentage of women (age 25 to 54) who are employed rose continuously until ∼2000 when it reached its highest point to date of 75%; it was slightly lower at 73% in 2018. Women have surpassed men in receipt of baccalaureate and doctoral degrees. The degree of segregation of fields of study declined dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s, but little since then. The desegregation of occupations continues but has slowed its pace. Examining the hourly pay of those aged 25 to 54 who are employed full-time, we found that the ratio of women’s to men’s pay increased from 0.61 to 0.83 between 1970 and 2018, rising especially fast in the 1980s, but much slower since 1990. In sum, there has been dramatic progress in movement toward gender equality, but, in recent decades, change has slowed and on some indicators stalled entirely.

Social scientists struggle on how to best operationalize and measure sexual orientation. Depending on the survey, researchers can use self-reports of lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity, same-sex partner cohabitation, same-sex sexual attraction, or same-sex sexual behavior. All measures come with their own limitations. To illuminate differences in these measures, this study examines the intersections between self-reported sexual identity, attraction, and behavior among a nationally representative sample of US men and women aged 15 -45. I explore how and when the three measures align, examine the determinants of self-identifying as gay or bisexual based on sexual behavior and attraction, and assess gender differences in the patterns. I find that about 20% of women and 10% of men aged 15 -45 would comprise the LGB community if it were defined to include those who report at least one of the following: gay or bisexual identity, any same-sex attraction, or same-sex sex in the last year. This is much higher than the 6.4% of women and 3.6% of men aged 15 -45 who selfidentify as LGB. I conclude with recommendations that can aid in measurement of the LGB population, and discuss implications for using certain measures over others when conducting research on the LGB community.

*Abstract:**We use data from the 2002-2013 National Surveys of Family Growth toexamine change across U.S. cohorts born between 1966 and 1995 in whetherindividuals have had sex with same-sex partners only, or with both men andwomen, and in whether they have a bisexual or gay identity. Adjusted forage, race/ethnicity, immigrant status, and mother’s education, we findincreases across cohorts in the proportion of women who report a bisexualidentity, who report ever having had sex with both sexes, or who reporthaving had sex with women only. By contrast, we find no cohort trend formen; roughly 5% of men in every cohort have ever had sex with a man, andthe proportion claiming a gay or bisexual attraction changed little. Inconcluding, we speculate that the gender difference is rooted in a broaderpattern of asymmetry in gender change in which departures from traditionalgender norms are more acceptable for women than men.*

Abstract:The author reports on the first study to use an audit method to ascertainwhether discrimination occurs against queer women (relative to straightwomen) when they apply to jobs in the United States. A field experiment wasconducted in which a pair of fictitious women’s résumés were sent to applyto more than 800 administrative jobs from online job databases advertisedby employers across four states. One woman’s résumé was randomly assignedleadership experience at a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)student organization to signal queer identity, while the other résumé, acontrol, was assigned experience at another progressive studentorganization. Results reveal that the women with the LGBT indicator ontheir résumés were discriminated against compared with the other women,receiving about 30 percent fewer callbacks.

The author reports on the first study to use an audit method to ascertain whether discrimination occurs against queer women (relative to straight women) when they apply to jobs in the United States. A field experiment was conducted in which a pair of fictitious women's résumés were sent to apply to more than 800 administrative jobs from online job databases advertised by employers across four states. One woman's résumé was randomly assigned leadership experience at a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) student organization to signal queer identity, while the other résumé, a control, was assigned experience at another progressive student organization. Results reveal that the women with the LGBT indicator on their résumés were discriminated against compared with the other women, receiving about 30 percent fewer callbacks.