Sociology’s Haoming Song, who recently joined the college as an assistant professor, has been named a 2024 recipient for the Work and Family Researchers Network’s (WFRN) Early Career Work and Family Fellowship Program. Receiving his PhD from Brown University in 2023, Song has established research at the intersections of family diversity and social inequality, with a specific focus on gender and sexuality.
The significance of a WFRN fellowship
The WFRN is a community dedicated to mentoring the upcoming generation of work-family scholars. Their Early Career Fellowship Program congregates recent doctoral recipients who are looking to advance their research and careers, as well as support others in this interdisciplinary field of study. Song will attend the annual Early Career Fellowship pre-conference in Montreal as well as the regular conference.
“Not only do I get the honor of going to Montreal; my work will also be highlighted, as I have been invited to give a presentation on my research” he says.
This will give him an opportunity to share his recent paper that revisits the gender gap in housework during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The focus of Song’s research
“My recognition as a WFRN 2024 Fellow encourages me to continue my three lines of research at CWRU” explains Song.
He explores the social organization of family life among sexual minorities in the U.S., such as their marital patterns and the division of housework and childcare. Song also studies the consequences of state policies and welfare programs on the health and well-being of children in heterosexual and queer families. Additionally, Song explores the implications of education, work-family balance, and policy on women’s life course transitions in East Asia.
Beyond the conference
Linked to these three areas of work, one of Song’s papers titled “State-Level Safety Net Spending and Educational Gaps in Maternal Time with Children” has recently been published in the flagship Journal of Marriage and Family. This work provides a comprehensive account of the association between public spending and maternal time with children, focusing on state-by-state spending on education, income security, health and other major programs such as EITC and Medicaid for nearly two decades.
A premier professional organization, the WFRN’s inclusion of Haoming Song in their association for work-family researchers and leaders is a great accomplishment and is surely to have an impact lasting longer than just the year of his fellowship.
“I am extremely grateful to be receiving this fellowship which recognizes me as one of the rising voices in my field.”