Why do trans women get paid less?

Question

Apparently there's statistics n shit, and when trans men transition they usually get a pay raise of like 10% at their next job. But when trans women transition they usually get a pay cut of like 30% at their next job. Which is total bullshit.

It's obviously not transphobia bc if it was then all trans people would usually get a pay cut, but if it was just regular mysoginy like with the gender pay gap, why would trans women get paid less than cis women? Why would it be such a drop 20% more than the rise for trans men is?

Can someone who has more experience with mysoginy and/or transphobia try and explain this please? Thanks. 🤍💙💖

BoopBoopBeep · Accepted Answer

There is no gender pay gap when accounting for outside variables. That's been disproved by all but the peons in academia who can't actually contribute value to society because they have 6 figures of debt and a gender studies degree. Even the link you cited partially addresses that because it can't be ignored with any credibility. Anyway, to answer your question...

On page 8 when it talks about the methodology of this study, it is asking do you make more or less at your last job, It doesn't ask if that's the same field. If you were a deep sea oil rigger, you MTF transitioned, and now you're a florist, then yes you're going to make less. If you FTM transitioned and you used to be an attorney and now you work on a fishing boat, you're likely going to get paid less because you're smaller and weaker than the natural born men and you're captain is giving you less in expectation that you'll haul in fewer lines or do it slower. These are obviously very extreme examples, but it shows how methodological shortcomings in a study (and honestly I'm not even faulting their study design because it's a super small sample size) lead to data which may or may not be successfully extrapolated over a larger population or assumed to be devoid of intertwining variables.

Do women who transitioned to men go back to the same job at the same place and just change their name on the door and suddenly make less? Unlikely. Do men who transitioned to women completely change careers and expect to make the same as someone who has done it for years? Maybe. Unsound, but maybe. In defense of the study, they DO track if someone went from a white collar to a blue collar job or vice versa, but that doesn't necessarily equate to pay raise/fall. Especially if a FTM is getting a manual job in a vocation she had before she went the he route, or vice versa. Handymen can get paid more than the tellar at the bank, and that's a white/blue transition (haha see what I did there?).

To quote the authors: "It is important to note that for most of the sample these multivariate regressions only capture the immediate change in earnings following a gender transition. A longitudinal study of transgender employment over a longer period
may reveal more substantial changes."

Since that is 15 years old perhaps someone has updated the data/study design.

FunkyMonkee · Accepted Answer

They do? News to me! I would think that, if they did, those companies would have several law suits on their ass and be out of business in a heartbeat!! Is there some LAW that says women and trans people HAVE to get paid less than men or, am I missing something, somewhere? I mean, if something like this went to court I seriously doubt the judge would say, "Oh, that's a FEMALE/TRANS PERSON? Well, in that case, you have every right in the world not to pay them as much as you pay men! Case dismissed!"
About 12 years ago, I was working in a print shop and I'd been there for 10 years, so far, and was only making $7.50 an hour. We got a new girl in the place doing the same stuff I was doing and she told me that she was making $8.75 an hour!! So much for women making less than men for the same job!

msmissydc · Accepted Answer

Funny how most people just assume you are wrong. Please read the update he gave.
The study is more or less saying FtM doesn't have a big pay gap to normal men, while MtF does have an even higher paygap than ciswomen to men.

The problems with this study is, that its a relativly small sample. Also it doesn't take into account much the adjusted pay gap.
The theory, that transwomen generally work in overly female dominated fields, (which most often pay less) even more so than ciswomen is plausible.

I would try to find something about the difference between adjusted and unadjusted gender pay gap.
It would be interesting seeing this in a 4 way analysis. I willjsee if I can find something like this, even though things like this you posted are already rare.

So my hypothisis (which I consider incomplete because I dont have that much data), is that transwomen have a larger influence in the unajusted gender pay gap but a smaller influence in the adjusted gender pay gap, compared to ciswomen.

This could be explained by field of work and disadvantage from employers by having the possibility of pregnancy. There is obviously more but as I said I need more research for a more profound theory.

Sour-rose · Accepted Answer

Well, I'm pretty sure because they told their employers... and their employers are assfaces. :D

jshm2 · Answer

Because they are fucking liabilities waiting to happen. Also, they are men who choose to be women, so they can get paid like women.

Anonymous · Answer

It's about respect. People in the workplace who are not respected typically don't excel in their jobs. And no one respects a man who chooses to become a "woman".

WhitneySnow · Answer

Sounds like men are getting paid more than women regardless if they’re cis or trans

Anonymous · Answer

Probably has something to do with being mentally ill and all. That's been shown to have a downward impact on wages.

WindAtMyBack · Answer

Sounds like total BS. Don't believe everything you read. Or at least spend some time checking it out. Statistics are a dime a dozen. You can find statistics that say just about anything.

Dargil · Answer

Why is anyone paid differently? Merit and experience.

Snakeyes7 · Answer

That's not legal. If they really are getting a lower salary than their peers then they are asking for a lawsuit. Unless you are looking up averages then it doesn't really prove anything.

LadiesFavoriteToy · Answer

Because they bring more problems than they are worth. Gender neutral bathrooms screaming bloody murder someone says strait men etc...

Anonymous · Answer

Stop reading BS online. None of that is true.

Why do trans women get paid less?

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