Is there a penalty for registered women? Is there a premium for registered men? Evidence from a sample of transsexual workers

In this paper, we study the earnings of transsexual workers using a large administrative sample drawn from the Dutch labor force. In particular, we make two comparisons. First, we compare transsexual workers to other women and men, and find that they earn more than women and less than men. Second, we compare transsexual workers before and after their administrative gender transition, and find that male-to-female transsexual workers earn less as registered women and female-to-male transsexual workers earn as much (if not marginally more) as registered men. These patterns hold for annual and hourly earnings, and do not change when we account for individual fixed effects. Together, our results are consistent with a labor market model in which transsexual workers are discriminated against as a registered female as well as a LGBT worker.