Lee Badgett

Lee Badgett
Born1960 (age 63–64)
North Carolina, US
Other namesMary Virginia Lee Badgett
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisRacial Differences in Unemployment Rates and Employment Opportunities (1990)
Academic work
DisciplineEconomics
Institutions
Main interests
Websiteleebadgett.com Edit this at Wikidata
The United States and the Netherlands launched on February 12 a call to action urging the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) issues in its ongoing and future work on economic inclusiveness. The call to action prevailed on the OECD to examine the economic case for LGBT-inclusivity and to develop recommendations for policy makers to remove barriers to equal LGBT treatment in the workplace.

Mary Virginia Lee Badgett (born 1960) is an American economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, best known for her research into economic issues relevant to lesbians, gay men, and their families.

Badgett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990. From 1990 to 1997 she was on the faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park, and in 1997 she joined the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Since 2005 Badgett has also been the research director at the UCLA Williams Institute.

Badgett's research has debunked the myth that gay and lesbian Americans are more affluent than straight people.[1] She has also documented the effects on taxation of government recognition of same-sex marriage, showing in 2007 that same-sex couples pay on average more than $1,000 annually than similarly situated opposite-sex couples whose marriage is recognized.[2] This research has been cited by numerous companies and institutions who have altered their employee compensation and benefits to try to remedy the disparity.[2] Badgett has testified as an expert witness before Congress[3] and other legislatures,[4] and in various litigations regarding same-sex marriage, including the Proposition 8 trial.[5]

  1. ^ Badgett, Money, Myths, and Change.
  2. ^ a b Carlos Santoscoy, "Time Warner To Pay Gay Couple's Tax On Benefits", On Top Magazine, Aug. 24, 2012.
  3. ^ See, e.g., Chris Geidner, "Senate Committee Holds Hearing into ENDA; Harkin Gives No Commitment on Mark-Up" Archived 2013-04-12 at the Wayback Machine, MetroWeekly, June 12, 2012 (Badgett testifying in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, aka ENDA).
  4. ^ See, e.g., Testimony by Dr. M.V. Lee Badgett to the California State Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee", April 26, 2006.
  5. ^ Howard Mintz, "Prop. 8 Trial Day 6: Live Coverage from the Courtroom", San Jose Mercury, Jan. 19, 2010.