Projects

Current research projects

My current projects examine gendered STEM choices and gender inequality in platform-mediated labor markets.

Austrian Science Fund, 10.55776/P36789

Affluence and the Gender Gap in STEM Study Choices

Principal investigator
Prof. Wilfred Uunk
Role
Major contributor
Duration
10/2023-09/2026

This project examines whether and how household affluence, economic security, and macro-level institutions shape gender gaps in STEM preferences and study choices. It addresses the gender-equality paradox by moving beyond country-level associations and testing individual and household-level mechanisms.

The project combines cross-national comparative analyses with longitudinal evidence from Germany. It asks how household resources influence gendered STEM preferences, whether affluence helps account for cross-national patterns, and how welfare provision, economic development, and inequality moderate these processes.

FWF project page

Economy, Politics & Society, University of Innsbruck

The Role of the Gig Economy in Gender Wage Gaps in China

Principal investigator
Mingming Li
Duration
01/2025-12/2026
Focus
Platform work, algorithmic management, gender wage inequality

This project studies how platform rules, algorithmic management, safety restrictions, rating systems, and household responsibilities shape women's labor market opportunities and earnings in China's gig economy.

A central question is when platform flexibility becomes constraint. The project examines whether protective rules and dispatch systems may unintentionally restrict access to higher-paying work, and how women navigate emotional labor, customer ratings, childcare, eldercare, and uneven working time.

EPOS page

Dissertation

Economic Resources and the Gender Gap in STEM Preferences and Choices

Supervisor
Prof. Wilfred Uunk
Institution
University of Innsbruck
Start
09/2023

My dissertation investigates how economic resources, expected returns, labor market signals, and institutional contexts shape gendered STEM aspirations, study choices, transitions, and exits. It connects debates in social stratification, education, gender, and labor market sociology.