Family & Life Course | Race, Ethnicity & Immigration | Sex, Gender & Sexuality | Sociology of Health

Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2016

M.A., The Ohio State University, 2012

B.A., Renmin University of China, 2010

Dr. Yue Qian (pronounced Yew-ay Chian) is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver).Her research and teaching interests focus on social demography, family and work, gender, health and well-being, and research methods. She has conducted research in North American and East Asian contexts.

Dr. Yue Qian is interested in understanding how gender intersects with family and population processes, such as assortative mating (i.e., who marries whom), divisions of labor, parenthood, and migration, to shape individual well-being and societal inequality.

Her current research focuses on three related areas in North American and East Asian contexts: (1) patterns of assortative mating; (2) consequences of assortative mating; and (3) the role of family, work, and population processes in shaping health and well-being. Most recently, she has been collaborating with researchers around the world to examine the social and mental health impacts of COVID-19.

1. Patterns of Assortative Mating

Han, Siqi and and Yue Qian. (2021). "Concentration and Dispersion: School-to-Work Linkages and Their Impact on Occupational Assortative Mating." The Social Science Journal. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)

• Access link here​

Xiao, Siqi* and Yue Qian. (2020). "Mate Selection among Online Daters in Shanghai: Why Does Education Matter?" Chinese Journal of Sociology, 6(4), 521–546. (* student co-author)

• Access link here (open access)

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Qian, Zhenchao and Yue Qian. (2020). "Generation, Education, and Intermarriage of Asian Americans." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(14), 2880-2895.

• Access link here

Hu, Yang and Yue Qian. (2019). "Educational and Age Assortative Mating in China: The Importance of Marriage Order." Demographic Research, 41, 53-82. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)

• Access link here (open access with replication materials)

Tian, Felicia F., Yue Qian, and Zhenchao Qian. (2018). "Hukou Locality and Intermarriages in Two Chinese Cities: Shanghai and Shenzhen." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 56, 12-20. (The first two authors share primary authorship)

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Qian, Yue and Zhenchao Qian. (2017). "Assortative Mating by Education and Hukou in Shanghai." Chinese Sociological Review, 49(3), 239-262.

• Access link here (open access with replication materials)
• Read Globe & Mail coverage of this paper
• Read a brief report of this paper in Chinese

Qian, Yue. (2017). “Gender Asymmetry in Educational and Income Assortative Marriage.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 79(2), 318-336.

• Access link here
• Read UBC News coverage of this paper

Qian, Yue and Zhenchao Qian. (2014). “Gender Divide in Urban China: Singlehood and Assortative Mating by Age and Education.” Demographic Research, 31, 1337-1364.

• Access link here (open access with replication materials)
• Read Economist coverage of this paper
• Read a brief report of this paper in Chinese

2. Consequences of Assortative Mating

Yavorsky, Jill E., Lisa A. Keister, and Yue Qian. (2020). "Gender in the One Percent." Contexts, 19(1), 12-17.

• Access link here (open access)

Qian, Zhenchao, Yuan Cheng, and Yue Qian. (2020). "Hukou, Marriage, and Access to Wealth in Shanghai." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(18), 3920-3936.

• Access link here
• Read a brief report of this paper in Chinese

Fan, Wen and Yue Qian. (2019). "Rising Educational Gradients in Mortality Among U.S. Whites: What Are the Roles of Marital Status and Educational Homogamy?" Social Science & Medicine, 235, 112365.

• Access link here

Yavorsky, Jill E., Lisa A. Keister, Yue Qian, and Michael Nau. (2019). “Women in the One Percent: Gender Dynamics in Top Income Positions.” American Sociological Review, 84(1), 54-81.

• Access link here
• Read a brief report of this paper in English
• Read The Washington Post coverage of this paper

Li, Ningzi and Yue Qian. (2018). "The Impact of Educational Pairing and Urban Residency on Household Financial Investments in Urban China." Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(4), 551-565. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)

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Qian, Yue. (2018). “Educational Assortative Mating and Income Dynamics in Couples: A Longitudinal and Dyadic Perspective.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 80(3), 607-621.

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Qian, Yue and Yongai Jin. (2018). “Women’s Fertility Autonomy in Urban China: The Role of Couple Dynamics Under the Universal Two-Child Policy.” Chinese Sociological Review, 50(3), 275-309.

• Access link here
• Read UBC News coverage of this paper
• Read brief reports in English and Chinese

Qian, Yue. (2017). "Educational Assortative Mating and Female Breadwinning Trajectories: A Group-Based Trajectory Analysis." In Intimate Relationships and Social Change. Published online: 07 Sep 2017; 95-123.

• Access link here

3. The Role of Family, Work, and Population Processes in Shaping Health and Well-being

Qian, Yue and Wen Fan. (2019). "Student Loans, Mental Health, and Substance Use: A Gender Comparison among US Young Adults." Journal of American College Health.

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Qian, Yue and Wen Fan. (2019). "Men and Women at Work: Occupational Gender Composition and Affective Well-Being in the United States." Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(7), 2077–2099.

• Access link here
• Read a brief report of this paper in English
• Read CBC News coverage of this paper

Fan, Wen and Yue Qian. (2017). "Native-Immigrant Occupational Segregation and Worker Health in the United States, 2004–2014." Social Science & Medicine, 183, 130-141.

• Access link here

Qian, Yue and Liana C. Sayer. (2016). “Division of Labor, Gender Ideology, and Marital Satisfaction in East Asia.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(2), 383-400.

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Qian, Yue and Chris Knoester. (2015). “Parental Status and Subjective Well-being among Currently Married Individuals in China.” Journal of Family Issues, 36(10), 1351-1376.

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Fan, Wen and Yue Qian. (2015). “Long-Term Health and Socioeconomic Consequences of Early-Life Exposure to the 1959-61 Chinese Famine.” Social Science Research, 49, 53-69.

• Access link here
• Read a brief report of this paper in Chinese

Qian, Yue and Zhenchao Qian. (2015). “Work, Family, and Gendered Happiness among Married People in Urban China.” Social Indicators Research, 121, 61-74.

• Access link here

4. Population, Gender, and Inequality

Qian, Yue and Jill E Yavorsky. (2021). "The Under-Utilization of Women's Talent: Academic Achievement and Future Leadership Positions." Social Forces. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)

• Access link here
• Read UBC News coverage of this paper
• Read a personal reflection on the research journey

Qian, Yue and Yongai Jin. (2020). "Premarital Pregnancy in China: Cohort Trends and Educational Gradients." Studies in Family Planning, 51(3), 273-291.

• Access link here
• Read a brief report in Chinese

Qian, Yue and Jiaxing Li*. (2020). "Separating Spheres: Cohort Differences in Gender Attitudes about Work and Family in China." The China Review, 20(2), 19-51. (* student co-author)

• Access link here
• Read a brief report in Chinese

Qian, Yue, Claudia Buchmann, and Zhe Zhang. (2018). "Gender Differences in Educational Adaptation of Immigrant-Origin Youth in the United States." Demographic Research, 38, 1155-1188.

• Access link here

Yavorsky, Jill E., Philip N. Cohen, and Yue Qian. (2016). “Man Up, Man Down: Race-Ethnicity and the Hierarchy of Men in Female-Dominated Work.” The Sociological Quarterly, 57(4), 733- 758.

• Access link here
• Read Society Pages coverage of this paper

5. Social and Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Yavorsky, Jill E., Yue Qian, and Amanda C. Sargent. (2021). "The Gendered Pandemic: The Implications of COVID-19 for Work and Family." Sociology Compass. (The first two authors share equal first‐authorship)

• Access link here (free access)

Fuller, Sylvia and Yue Qian. (2021). "Covid-19 and The Gender Gap in Employment Among Parents of Young Children in Canada." Gender & Society, 35(2), 206-217.

• Access link here (free access)

Qian, Yue and Yang Hu. (2021). "Couples' Changing Work Patterns in the United Kingdom and the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic." Gender, Work & Organization. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)

• Access link here (free access)

Qian, Yue and Amy Hanser. (2021). "How did Wuhan residents cope with a 76-day lockdown?" Chinese Sociological Review, 53(1), 55-86.

• Access link here (free access)
• Read UBC Sociology News coverage of this paper
• Read a brief report in Chinese

Wu, Cary, Yue Qian, and Rima Wilkes. (2021). "Anti-Asian Discrimination and the Asian-White Mental Health Gap During COVID-19." Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(5), 819-835.

• Access link here (free access)

Qian, Yue and Sylvia Fuller. (2020). "COVID-19 and the Gender Employment Gap Among Parents of Young Children." Canadian Public Policy, 46(S2), S89-S101.

• Access link here (free access)
• Read a press release and a brief report in English

Wu, Cary, Rima Wilkes, Yue Qian, and Eric Kennedy. (2020). "East Asian Canadians, Discrimination, and the Mental Health Impact of COVID-19." Canadian Diversity, 17(3), 60-64.

• Access link here (free access)

Qian, Yue and Wen Fan. (2020). "Who Loses Income During the COVID-19 Outbreak? Evidence from China." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 100522. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)

• Access link here (free access)

Recent Awards (Since Appointment at the University of British Columbia)

• The Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Research Grant (2020-2023)

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding Opportunity (2020-2022)

• The 2019 Dean of Arts Faculty Research Award (2019-2020)

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant (2018-2020)

• Fellowship -- The 2nd Summer Institute for Migration Research Methods, Russell Sage Foundation (2019)

• Arts Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award (2019)

• SSHRC Exchange -- Arts International Conference Travel Grant (2019)

• Fellowship -- Nanjing University Zheng Gang Visiting Scholars Program (2018-2019)

• Travel Award, the 2018 International Chinese Sociological Association Annual Conference and the first meeting of the Princeton Research Network on Contemporary China (2018)

• Arts Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award (2018)

• Faculty of Arts Workshop & Visiting Speaker Grant (2017)

• Hampton Fund Research Grant -- New Faculty Award (2016-2018)

Dr. Yue Qian works closely with graduate students. Her graduate supervision involves the following practices:

1. Get to know students and carefully assess their needs.
2. Work with students to establish a strong research plan.
3. Encourage students to write early and often.
4. Initiate regular contact and provide high quality feedback.
5. Inspire and motivate students to become knowledge producers.
6. Get students involved in the life of the department and the larger academic community.
7. Take an active interest in students' future careers.
8. Help if academic or personal crises occur.

Teaching

Dr. Yue Qian's primary goals in teaching are:

• To engage students in critical thinking;
• To inspire students to communicate clearly;
• To stimulate students to think globally;
• To promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.

She teaches Theories of Family and Kinship, Social Statistics II, and Diversity in Family Forms at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Yue Qian has written self-help articles in Chinese to share her academic experiences.

Public Sociology

Dr. Yue Qian has a strong commitment to conveying academic research to a wider audience. The goal of her public engagement with research is to increase global awareness regarding issues of family, gender, and social justice among diverse audiences. As a gender scholar and feminist, Dr. Qian is particularly passionate about translating gender research into the empowerment of women and advocacy for gender equality around the world.

Dr. Yue Qian is the primary founder and editor of, and contributor to a public account “Ms-Muses (缪斯夫人)” on WeChat (China’s largest social media platform). She edits and writes research-based commentaries on gender and family issues. The number of account subscribers has exceeded 40,000 and is still growing.

Here is a select list of her most popular blog posts (written in Chinese):

• 陈建斌把蒋勤勤气哭了！真的是因为他懒吗？(cleaning as a window into power in couples)
• “婚姻包袱”：为什么日本人不结婚？(“marriage package:” Why Japanese people do not get married?)  
• 和谁结婚这件事，你知道是哪些因素决定的吗? (Searching for a mate: Social and demographic factors that influence who marries whom)

Dr. Qian has been actively disseminating social science research through many channels and media. For example, she was invited to give a TED-style public talk on changing marriage patterns in the global context. This talk, delivered in Chinese, has been viewed over 2.5 million times since its video was available online. You may also read its transcript in Chinese or in English.

Dr. Qian has written many op-eds to share research and expertise with a wide audience.

• Asian guys stereotyped and excluded in online dating
• Why young people in South Korea are staying single despite efforts to spark dating
• Does being smart and successful lower your chances of getting married?