Research

My research focuses on gender inequality in family life. In much of my work, I ask a version of this question: as support for egalitarianism grows, why does gender continue to shape the benefits we enjoy and burdens we bear as members of a family? 

Below are descriptions of several of my ongoing research projects.

Thinking Gender: The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor

Decades of sociological research shows that women in different-gender couples perform most housework and childcare, even when both partners are employed. But what counts as housework? In this project, I draw on 170 interviews with members of different- and same-gender couples to identify and define “cognitive labor” as the work of anticipating household needs, identifying options for meeting those needs, deciding among the options, and monitoring the results. Such work is highly gendered, with women in different-gender couples doing more cognitive work overall—and more of the most invisible and least powerful forms of such work in particular. I use the case of cognitive labor to explore the question of why and how gender inequality persists, even as support for egalitarianism continues to grow. One key reason is that individuals understand cognitive labor as a reflection of their underlying self—a matter of who they are rather than simply what they do. 

I am currently writing a book based on this project, under advanced contract with Princeton University Press. Two related articles have been published:

Rethinking Marital Power

While we may be accustomed to thinking about power in the context of politics and business, power dynamics are also at play in our most intimate relationships. In ongoing research, collaborator Jaclyn Wong and I explore the tension between the ideals of contemporary couples and sociological theories of marital power: the former center on collaboration and cooperation, but the latter emphasize independence and domination. We examine couples’ decision-making patterns as a window onto their power dynamics and identify the strategies and tactics they use to keep power differentials within reasonable bounds. However, we find that gender inequality persists despite these efforts.   

Gender Ideology and Generational Change 

My second book-length project examines the questions of how and why gender ideology evolves from one generation to the next. Differences in adults’ beliefs, behaviors, and preferences vis-a-vis gender roles in family life are often partially attributed to childhood socialization. Yet the mechanics of this process—and the extent of its influence—remain opaque. How do parents transmit gender beliefs to their children, and what leads children to accept, reject, or refashion their parents’ beliefs? To answer this question, I am conducting interviews and ethnographic observations with children and their caregivers and will periodically re-interview these young people over the course of a decade, following them as they transition into their adult lives.