Bio

Dr. Wong received her PhD in sociology with a graduate certificate in gender and sexuality studies from the University of Chicago in 2018.

Research

Substantive research interests: Gender, marriage and family, work, health, and aging and the life course

Department cluster: Inequalities and Institutions, Population and Health

Research overview:  Dr. Wong’s research is motivated by this major question: how do the seemingly private decisions and interactions in couples and families relate to broader patterns of inequality from young adulthood to late life?  

Current projects: Dr. Wong recently published a book with University of California Press (2023) based on six years of in-depth interviews with different-gender dual-professional couples as they launched careers and transitioned to parenthood. Her other projects use nationally representative survey data to examine how positive and negative social relationships shape older adults’ health and wellbeing. Dr. Wong’s new research uses interview, survey, and experimental methods to examine the extent of gender inequality in cognitive housework (the mental work required to run a household), explain why this inequality exists, and explore how to reduce it.

Teaching

SOCY 304: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality

SOCY 504: Social Stratification

SOCY 561: Integrative Research Experience

Selected Publications

Wong, Jaclyn S. 2023. Equal Partners? How Dual-Professional Couples Make Career, Relationship, and Family Decisions. University of California Press.

Wong, Jaclyn S. 2021. “Aspiring Dual-Professional Couples’ Career Launch Plans and Childbearing Timing.” Journal of Family Issues 42:1092-1115. doi: 10.1177/0192513X20983380.  

Wong, Jaclyn S. and Andrew M. Penner. 2018. “Better Together? Interracial Relationships and Depressive Symptoms.” Socius [Published online]. doi: 10.1177/2378023118814610.

Wong, Jaclyn S. 2017. “Competing Desires: How Young Adult Couples Negotiate Moving for Career Opportunities.” Gender & Society 31:171-196. doi: 10.1177/0891243217695520.

Wong, Jaclyn S. and Ning Hsieh. 2017. “Functional Status, Cognition, and Social Relationships in Dyadic Perspective.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. [Published online]. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx024.