Yang Hu

Yang Hu (he/him/his) is Associate Professor in Sociology at UCL Social Research Institute (2025–), where he also leads the newly launched MSc Sociology (+ Data Science | Social Inequalities | Childhood and Children's Rights MA). Yang is a member of the UK 2029 REF (Research Excellence Framework) sub-panel for Sociology. He is co-director of the Early Career Fellowship Program at the Work and Family Researchers Network (2024–). He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Marriage and Family (2020–) and Sociology Compass (2020–), and previously Sociology (2020–2022). He is also a member of the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab (2023–). Yang has been named in the Stanford-Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists list for citations since 2022.

Before joining UCL, Yang was Professor of Global Sociology (2022–2025), Associate Professor (2019–2022) and Assistant Professor (2016–2019) at Lancaster University, UK. His leadership in global digital innovation and international partnerships was recognised through two University Staff Awards ("International Impact of the Year") and one Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean's Staff Award at Lancaster University.

Yang's research examines family and work changes and inequalities in a global context, including: 

1. Intersectional inequalities in family and work lives across the lines of gender, sexuality, ethnicity/race, age, migrant status, and social class.

2. The implications of digitalisation and AI (artificial intelligence) for family and work lives and inequalities.

3. The role of crises (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters) in reproducing existing and giving rise to new forms of intersectional inequalities in family and work lives.

Yang takes two approaches to the "global" in his research – the first features a cross-national comparative scope and the second focuses on transnational mobilities. His recent research has been published in journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Gender & Society, Demography, Journal of Marriage and Family, and European Sociological Review, British Journal of Sociology, among others. His research has frequently been recognised through international awards and most-read/cited status. 

Yang's research has received funding (> £1.5 million) from the UKRI/ESRC (UK), SSHRC (Canada), British Academy (UK), HEFCE (UK), and Nuffield Foundation (UK). 

Yang was an early career fellow at the Work and Family Researchers Network (2018–2019). He obtained his MPhil and PhD (with no corrections) in Sociology as a Gates Scholar from the University of Cambridge (Queens’ College, October 2015), and his BA from Zhejiang University, China (2010).