Socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an individual or group of individuals. When analyzed, one must view the various social classes that make up civilization through the lenses of privilege, power, and control. Furthermore, a thorough examination of SES reveals many inequities that are currently being faced. SES is relevant to many areas including of behavioral and social science, including research, practice, education, and advocacy (APA). The most visible socioeconomic inequity, and the basis of this paper, is the evident disparity amongst the wages of specific social groups including: gays, lesbians, heterosexual men and women. Internally, we are all humans with the same 46 chromosomes and potential for success, but externally, wages segregate these groups, and multiple studies validate that fact. In a recent study conducted in Australia by researcher Matt Wade, homosexual men, on average, get paid 13 percent less than their heterosexual colleagues of the same position (Wade). With this being said, the discretion of a man's homosexuality or bisexuality within a professional setting is crucial to the increased success, growth, and expansion of the business and clientele, as well as the subsequent job opportunities that may arise along the way. .
Discretion for a gay businessman in our generation is essential because of the underlying problem of internal inferences. An inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. A following quote by Jerry Sienfield reads as the following, "I am not gay. I am, however, thin, single, and neat. Sometimes when someone is thin, single, and neat, people assume they are gay because that is a stereotype. They normally don't think of gay people as fat, sloppy, and married." This originally was from a comedy skit but there is so much truth within the quote.
