PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Innsbruck
Gender, STEM, and inequality in education and work.
I study how family resources and institutions shape STEM education and transitions into work, and how gig work, informal employment, and digital transformation reshape gender inequality.
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology, University of Innsbruck. My dissertation, supervised by Wilfred Uunk, examines economic resources and the gender gap in STEM preferences and choices. I expect to complete my PhD in March 2027.
My research connects gender and social stratification with the study of education, labor markets, and households. I use longitudinal and comparative survey analysis alongside qualitative interviews, with research on China, Germany, and cross-national patterns.
Research Interests
Gender and STEM educationSocial stratification and labor marketsGig work and informal employmentDigital transformation
Selected Research
STEM Education, Social Stratification, and Labor Markets
Mingming Li* and Wilfred Uunk. “Economic Opportunity and the Formation of Gendered STEM Aspirations: Security, Returns, and Accessibility.”
Under external reviewAmerican Journal of Sociology.
Research summary
A comparison of 61 countries and regions shows that greater economic security is associated with wider gender gaps in aspirations for mathematics-related work. Higher relative STEM pay and greater women’s representation in STEM occupations are associated with narrower gaps. Similar gaps can nevertheless arise from different patterns among girls and boys. Distinguishing security, returns, and access as separate dimensions of economic opportunity offers a more precise account of how national contexts relate to gendered aspirations.
Mingming Li* and Wilfred Uunk. “Gendered Entry, Convergent Exit: Socialization, Labor Market Signals and STEM Educational Trajectories.”
Under external reviewEuropean Sociological Review.
Research summary
Following German students over time, this study finds that occupational interests account for much of the gender gap in STEM entry. Once students enter STEM, higher earnings premiums are associated with less switching out, whereas longer working hours relative to other occupations are associated with more switching out. These later patterns are similar for women and men. The findings connect cultural and economic explanations of educational inequality by showing why entry and persistence require different accounts.
Mingming Li*. “Does Affluence Widen the Gender Gap in STEM Choices? Micro-Level Evidence from Germany.”
Submitted after major revisionSocial Science Research.
Research summary
Among students entering higher education in Germany, women from higher-income families are less likely to choose STEM, and the gender gap is wider at higher income levels. This pattern persists after accounting for vocational interests, gender-role attitudes, and job values, while comparable gender differences are not clearly established for wealth. By distinguishing household income from accumulated assets, the study shows how family economic advantage can accompany greater gender segregation in educational specialization.
Wilfred Uunk and Mingming Li*. 2026. “Does Societal Affluence Increase the Gender Gap in STEM Graduation? A Longitudinal Assessment.”
PublishedSex Roles 92(3), 19.
Research summary
Following STEM graduation patterns in 113 countries from 1999 to 2023, this study finds that rising societal affluence is associated with a wider gender gap. The widening is linked to higher STEM graduation odds among men and varies across fields of study. The study advances the debate on the affluence paradox by tracing change within countries and identifying the gender-specific patterns that aggregate gaps can conceal.
Mingming Li* and Wilfred Uunk. “Matching, Mismatch, and Exit: Gendered Realization of STEM Credentials in Urban China.”
Major revisionBritish Journal of Sociology of Education.
Research summary
Among urban STEM graduates in China, women and men appear equally likely to hold jobs matching their degrees when fields are pooled. Within broad fields, employed women are about nine percentage points less likely to have a match; women’s concentration in medicine masks this disadvantage in aggregate comparisons. Women are also more often outside paid work as homemakers, particularly when they have young children. The study shows how inequality in the use of STEM credentials can be overlooked unless field composition and care-related non-employment are examined.
The Gig Economy, Informal Employment, and Digital Transformation
Tianhe Chen and Mingming Li*. “Algorithmic Benevolent Sexism: Female Ride-Hailing Drivers and the Paradox of Protection in China.”
Submitted after minor revisionSex Roles.
Research summary
Interviews with 21 women ride-hailing drivers in China reveal how protection can be experienced as both reassuring and restrictive. Drivers described passenger scrutiny that carried consequences through ratings and complaints, alongside safety arrangements they associated with fewer opportunities for profitable trips. The concept of algorithmic benevolent sexism captures this tension between protection and opportunity, extending research on sexism to workers’ experiences of opaque platform governance.
Xinyi Wei, Ru Jia, and Mingming Li*. “Platform Access and Conditional Occupational Membership among Women Ride-Hailing Drivers in China.”
With editorWork, Employment and Society.
Research summary
Interviews and follow-up accounts from women ride-hailing drivers in China show that platform access does not secure lasting recognition as a competent worker. Passengers repeatedly reopened judgments of competence, while ratings and complaint records extended these encounters beyond individual trips. Drivers’ growing confidence could coexist with reduced or ended participation as they navigated care, health, and earnings pressures. The study develops conditional occupational membership to show why access, recognition, and sustainable participation are distinct dimensions of inclusion.
Tianhe Chen and Mingming Li*. “Algorithmic Collaboration and Negotiated Dependence: Gendered Claim-Making and Platform Governance in China’s Ride-Hailing Sector.”
Under external reviewNew Technology, Work and Employment.
Research summary
Drawing on 21 interviews, this study shows how women ride-hailing drivers learn platform rules, share practical knowledge, and press for safer and fairer working conditions. Their accounts also reveal tensions in this reliance, as arrangements perceived as protective and metrics rewarding continuous availability could limit access to profitable work. The concept of algorithmic collaboration links everyday adaptation to demands for better governance, showing how worker agency develops within dependence on the platform.
Mingming Li*, Xinyun Hu, Keyan Jin, and Jiachen Han. 2025. “Exploring factors influencing entry into the gig economy: A study of Chinese workers.”
PublishedActa Psychologica 259, 105301.
Research summary
Using Chinese labor-force survey data, this study examines how earnings, flexibility, gender, and employment conditions relate to participation in gig work. Machine learning and regression identify wages and work flexibility as leading predictors, while women are less likely than men to participate. The findings place the economic attractions of gig work alongside unequal participation, bringing worker motivations and structural constraints into a common account of entry into flexible employment.
Jiachen Han, Mingming Li*, Shi Li, and Yingying Hu. 2024. “The widening gender wage gap in the gig economy in China: the impact of digitalisation.”
PublishedHumanities and Social Sciences Communications 11(1), 1639.
Research summary
Drawing on Chinese labor-force surveys from 2014 to 2018, this study finds a wider gender wage gap in gig work in more digitally developed settings. The gap is especially pronounced among older and married workers, and wage decomposition attributes most of it to differences in returns to observed characteristics. These findings challenge the expectation that digital expansion will automatically close pay gaps, directing attention to who gains from changing labor-market opportunities.
