The economics of sexual orientation and gender identity is a young field within economics, beginning in the late 1990s. Evolving from heterodox and feminist critiques of labor economics, the field has evolved both methodologically and theoretically to resemble the economics of race and the economics of gender. Situated firmly in labor economics, the economics of sexual orientation and gender identity examines how sexual and gender minorities navigate the modern economy, questioning our assumptions of Becker’s model of the household and traditional models of gender discrimination along the way. In this talk, I will trace the origins of the field, highlighting the key stylized facts which have come to define the field, before examining some of the important questions researchers are grappling with today. Data from the UK Understanding Society Survey will be used to illustrate our examples, highlighting the role of the rich UK data in helping us understand the economics of sexual orientation and gender identity.”