About
Teaching
The core of Dr. Yue Qian's teaching philosophy is to foster curiosity, critical thinking, and confidence in students.
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 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):
一位“坚持走科研道路”女学者的自白 ('Nevertheless, she persisted')
在加拿大当助理教授的第一年：如何管理时间、情绪和研究进度? (How to manage your time, emotion, and research progress as pre-tenure faculty members?)
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 nearly two million times since its video was available online. You may also read its transcript in Chinese.
Research
Research
Dr. Yue Qian (pronounced Yew-ay Chian) 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 two themes in North American and East Asian contexts. First, she seeks to understand how changing gender roles influence assortative mating. In particular, she is interested in examining the consequences of the gender-gap reversal in education for marriage patterns.
Second, she seeks to understand how family and population processes, such as divisions of labor, family relations, and immigration, perpetuate social inequality in various domains (e.g., health, subjective well-being, earnings, etc.). In particular, by adopting an international perspective, her research investigates how gendered outcomes in the family domain are shaped by cultural and institutional contexts, such as gender inequality in the labor market and normative expectations about men’s and women’s family roles.
Publications
Select Publications
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. (Two authors contributed equally to the work)
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. (The first two authors share primary authorship)
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.
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.
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 International Business Times, RESEARCH2REALITY, and UBC News coverage of this paper
- Read a brief report of this paper in Chinese or English
- One of the most read articles published in Chinese Sociological Review
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.
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.
Qian, Yue and Zhenchao Qian. (2017). "Assortative Mating by Education and Hukou in Shanghai." Chinese Sociological Review, 49(3), 239-262.
- Access link here
- 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, IMAGE, and Institute for Family Studies coverage of this paper
- Watch Global News Hour at 6 Interview with me (between 18:59 and 19:59)
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
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.
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.
Qian, Yue and Zhenchao Qian. (2015). “Work, Family, and Gendered Happiness among Married People in Urban China.” Social Indicators Research, 121, 61-74.
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. (2014). “Gender Divide in Urban China: Singlehood and Assortative Mating by Age and Education.” Demographic Research, 31, 1337-1364.
- Access link here
- Read Economist coverage of this paper
- Read a brief report of this paper in Chinese