MINEQ is a project funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2020-STG-948557-MINEQ) and runs from 2021-2025 at the Center for Demographic Studies in Barcelona. This is an abstract of the project’s proposal:
A voluminous body of research has documented how LGBTQ* people experience discrimination and stigma in society. At the same time, we know surprisingly little about the extent to which these processes lead to different socioeconomic and family outcomes. This project will be the first to systematically document cross-national and cross-temporal differences in the socioeconomic and family outcomes of LGBTQ* people and investigate the conditions under which opportunities vary.
To achieve this goal, the project will innovate by exploiting information on sexual orientation and gender identity that has recently been incorporated in several large-scale representative surveys. This breakthrough allows the project to answer foundational questions regarding inequality of opportunity experienced by the LGBTQ* population; on many occasions for the first time. For instance, the project will document social mobility patterns and the partnering dynamics of the LGBTQ* population. The project will also specifically study the outcomes of individuals identifying as LGBTQ* who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The second part of the project consists of studying the mechanisms that pose obstacles for the LGBTQ* population to attain outcomes in life. Can gender egalitarianism reduce inequality of opportunity experienced by LGBTQ* people? How large is the impact of hate crimes and legislation on the family life of LGBTQ* people? Contextual information on regional differences in attitudes, hate crimes and laws will be compiled and connected to surveys to document their relationship to socioeconomic achievements and the family life of LGBTQ* individuals.