My name is Manlin Cai. I am a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. I expect to graduate in early 2026 and am actively exploring opportunities for the next chapter of research, teaching, and collaboration.

My research interests include migration and immigration, race and ethnicity, gender, and work-family connections. One line of my research focuses on how race and ethnicity shape immigrant integration in Canada. Specifically, I examine how racial minority immigrants choose romantic partners, navigate educational and employment opportunities, and secure permanent residency.

Another line investigates gender inequalities at the work-family interface in both Canada and China. Leveraging both quantitative and qualitative expertise, I analyze large-scale nationally representative datasets alongside in-depth interviews. Across these research projects, I have eight peer-reviewed articles published or forthcoming, with additional manuscripts in the pipeline. A full list appears below.

Fuller, Sylvia, Manlin Cai, Andrea Doucet, and Siqi Qin. Forthcoming. “Gender Divisions of Domestic Labour During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: Did Increases in Father Involvement Persist through Later Stages?” Canadian Review of Sociology.

Cai, Manlin, Yue Qian, and Yang Hu. 2025. “The Efficiency Paradox: A Temporal Lens into Online Dating among Chinese Immigrants in Canada.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 42(8): 2167-2187.

Fuller, Sylvia, Manlin Cai, and Donna Lero. 2025. “The Work/Care Interface and Parents’ Mid-Pandemic Mental Health: Inequalities at the Intersection of Gender and High-Health-Risk Household Status.” Society and Mental Health 15(1): 75-93.

Lui, Lake, Manlin Cai, and Yue Qian. 2024. “Comfortably ‘Western’: How Chinese International Students Imagine Canada.” Canadian Ethnic Studies 56(2): 157-176.

Cai, Manlin. 2023. “For the Sake of Parents? Marriages of Convenience between Lesbians and Gay Men in China.” LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal 19(3): 211-227.

Cai, Manlin and Yue Qian. 2023. “Digital Ethnic Enclaves: Mate Preferences and Platform Choices Among Chinese Immigrant Online Daters in Vancouver.” Canadian Review of Sociology 60(1): 130-153.

Qin, Siqi, Manlin Cai, Sylvia Fuller, and Yue Qian. 2022. “Gender, Parenthood and Employment During COVID-19: An Immigrant-Native Born Comparison in Canada.” Canadian Ethnic Studies 54(3): 63-108.

Qian, Yue, Yang Shen, and Manlin Cai. 2022. “Gendered Age Preferences for Potential Partners: A Mixed-Methods Study Among Online Daters in Shanghai.” Chinese Sociological Review 54(3): 304-331.

In addition to journal articles, I led a policy brief on Canada’s care/work policies, which was also featured in the media by The Tyee.

Cai, Manlin, Sylvia Fuller, and Donna Lero. 2025. “Care/Work Policies for Managing Routine and Unpredictable Caregiving.” The Vanier Institute of the Family.