Work Values, Sexual Orientation, Pay, and Preference for Nonprofit and Public Sector Employment

33 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2011 Last revised: 25 Jun 2021

See all articles by Gregory B. Lewis

Gregory B. Lewis

Georgia State University - Andrew Young School of Policy Studies - Dept. of Public Management & Policy

Eddy S Ng

Dalhousie University

Eric Meerkamper

DECODE

Graham Donald

Brainstorm

Date Written: 2011

Abstract

Does the under-representation of gay men in U.S. government workforces reflect a lack of desire for public sector jobs? Using large 2007 and 2010 surveys of Canadian college students, we show that gay and lesbian students are more likely than heterosexual students to want public and nonprofit sector jobs, partly because (1) they place higher value on altruistic and intrinsic rewards than do heterosexual students and (2) they expect to pay a smaller monetary penalty for choosing work in those sectors. Our findings are broadly consistent with the public service motivation literature, though altruistic motives drive students much more strongly to the nonprofit than to the public sector. Desires for job security and strong health and benefit plans have a bigger impact on wanting a government job. Despite economists’ findings that the federal government pays comparable workers less than the private sector, students preparing for government jobs expect to earn less than those heading to the private sector, and students who prioritize starting salary and advancement opportunities prefer private sector jobs.

Keywords: altruism, public service motivation, public-private pay differences, gay and lesbian, government and nonprofit sector employment

Suggested Citation

Lewis, Gregory B. and Ng, Eddy S and Meerkamper, Eric and Donald, Graham, Work Values, Sexual Orientation, Pay, and Preference for Nonprofit and Public Sector Employment (2011). APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1900969

Gregory B. Lewis (Contact Author)

Georgia State University - Andrew Young School of Policy Studies - Dept. of Public Management & Policy ( email )

Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
PO Box 3992
Atlanta, GA 30302-3992
United States

Eddy S Ng

Dalhousie University ( email )

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2
Canada

Eric Meerkamper

DECODE ( email )

Toronto
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.decode.net

Graham Donald

Brainstorm ( email )

1033 Monterey Ave.
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada

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