DR. EMILY SHAFER
Despite the relative gains women have made since the 1960s, the trend toward gender equality has plateaued. Additionally, positive trends in U.S. women's health, such as life expectancy, have slowed in recent years. In my research I point to limited change in domestic relationships as a key mechanism for the persistence of gender inequality. Rather than view actors as operating in a vacuum, I am interested in how the relationships women are embedded in affect their life outcomes. In my current projects I examine whether partners' long work hours affect individual health, how a woman's surname choice in marriage affects how other perceive her, and the determinants of breastfeeding duration in the United States.