Gender Issues Research Lab (GIRL)
Ho Kwan Cheung, Ph.D.
Gender
Work-Life
Judgment and punishment of sexual harassment incidents
Diversity training on race and gender diversity and bystanders intervention on sexual harassment
Workplace sexual harassment climate and related HR practices
Experiences and well-being of women in academia
Motherhood penalty in public sector employment
Hiring discrimination against working mothers
Experiences of mothers from pregnancy to post-birth transition back to work
Gendered ageism and midlife transitions
Motherhood penalty in public sector employment
Effects of work stress and resources on parenting behaviors
Experiences of mental health issues at work
Discrimination based on other marginalized identities (e.g., refugee status, weight)
As such, the two main goals of the lab's research program are:
1) Evaluating the manifestation of discrimination against women, particularly in the form of barriers to work-life balance.
2) Identifying individual and organizational strategies to ensure a women- and family-friendly workplace.
Some of the recent work produced by this lab examines hiring discrimination against working mothers, the effect of pregnancy disclosure on workplace relationships, and sexual harassment training effectiveness.
In addition to a focus on gender and family, the lab also conducts a variety of research projects to understand working experiences of other marginalized groups of society (e.g., refugees status, obesity, LGBTQ+, etc.), as well as remediation strategies to ensure inclusiveness for all employees.
For more details, please click here.
Despite the increasing representation of women in the workforce, gender discrimination persists in a number of forms such as wage discrepancies and sexual harassment. Women’s changeable roles through life, as they go through pregnancy to motherhood, also add extra challenges to their career development due to the stigma associated with motherhood.
