My research in occupational stratification explores how sexual orientation and gender intersect with stigma, institutional structures, and policy environments to shape labor market outcomes. I examine not only the distribution of sexual minorities across occupational hierarchies but also how these patterns vary by sector, geography, and occupational culture. My work reveals persistent overrepresentation of sexual minorities in gender-atypical and lower-prestige occupations, patterns that are less pronounced in states with stronger anti-discrimination laws and more inclusive public sentiment. Extending this line of inquiry, I find that sexual minorities are disproportionately concentrated in the non-profit and public sectors and underrepresented in the private sector, particularly in progressive states, in high-earning occupations, and among older individuals. Within STEM fields, my research uncovers both exclusionary pressures and compensatory responses: sexual minority professionals are more likely to be employed part-time, yet among full-time workers, they report longer hours, possibly reflecting heightened identity-based performance pressures. I also interrogate how workplace experiences are shaped by gendered organizational cultures, showing that women perceive escalating structural barriers with increased job tenure. Together, my work advances theories of occupational stratification by highlighting how sexual and gender-based marginalization unfolds across different institutional and policy contexts.

The second stream of my research examines how identity-related processes shape mental health among sexual minority individuals, with particular attention to the tensions between individual self-concept and collective affiliation. Drawing on minority stress and social identity theories, I find that sexual identity centrality exerts both protective and harmful effects on psychological well-being. While it strengthens LGBT community connectedness, a critical buffer against distress, it simultaneously intensifies perceptions of group vulnerability through linked fate, thereby exacerbating psychological strain. Building on this insight, I use latent class analysis to identify four distinct queer identity configurations, Master Identity, Discreet, Post-Sexuality, and Dissonant, that capture complex patterns of outness, individual identity salience, and collective integration. Notably, individuals in the Post-Sexuality class, who are highly out but report low levels of identity centrality and collective efficacy, experience significantly lower life satisfaction and social well-being than their Master Identity counterparts. These findings highlight a growing shift toward individualized, depoliticized forms of queer identity and their potential consequences for mental health.

A third line of research investigates family outcomes, particularly how sexual orientation and gender shape domestic labor and relationship formation. In a co-authored study, I use Consumer Expenditure Survey data to analyze patterns of housework outsourcing. The findings show that same-sex male couples are more likely than different-sex couples to outsource housework; however, this difference is largely explained by educational and occupational characteristics, suggesting that resource availability, rather than cultural orientation alone, drives outsourcing practices. Another study examines how gendered occupational characteristics moderate the relationship between couple type (same-sex vs. different-sex) and time spent on housework. Shifting from domestic labor to relationship formation, a third project explores how mating channels (e.g., online dating) influence assortative mating by race, education, and age. This study finds that the way couples meet mediates differences in age-based assortative mating between same-sex and different-sex couples, highlighting how relationship formation processes diverge across couple types.

A final line of research explores the life course implications of gender- and sexuality-based inequalities, with particular attention to geographic mobility and labor force trajectories. In one study, I analyze Add Health data to assess internal migration from young adulthood to early midlife. I find that sexual minority men are significantly more mobile across geographic boundaries than other groups, even after accounting for life course transitions and prior mobility. These findings point to persistent identity-based disparities in migration trajectories and contribute to intersectional understandings of queer demographic behavior. Another project draws on interviews with adults raised in rural Pennsylvania to examine how early social and economic contexts shape long-term work aspirations. The study finds that early ambitions are repeatedly restructured in response to gender, class, and shrinking rural labor markets, reinforcing existing structural inequalities. A third project uses the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth to estimate group-based trajectories of labor force attachment. It finds that gender remains a key predictor of long-term labor market patterns, with education offering uneven protection across cohorts. Notably, early experiences of employment precarity leave lasting imprints on labor force trajectories, highlighting how gendered transitions to adulthood shape work over the life course. These studies illuminate how inequality unfolds not only within specific domains, but across time in ways that shape long-term social and economic outcomes.