To better understand people's career choices, I am currently pursuing two main lines of research:

(1) Does children's understanding of status hierarchies shape their future aspirations?

I investigate children's beliefs about which gender group has higher status, the mechanisms by which people gain status (e.g., through effort versus social maneuvering), whether status hierarchies can be maintained unfairly through nepotism or favoritism, and stereotypes about people from different social class backgrounds. I test how many of these early beliefs shape children's aspirations for high-status careers.

(2) What explains people's interest and persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) fields?

I investigate why women, racial/ethnic minorities, and students from lower-income backgrounds are underrepresented in STEM fields. I test both psychological (e.g., STEM stereotypes) and socio-cultural (e.g., country-level gender equality) factors that might explain these representation gaps.

I use lab experiments, surveys, "big data", and field studies to answer these research questions.