Yang Hu

Yang Hu (he/him/his) is Professor of Global Sociology (2022–), and previously Associate Professor (2019–2022) and Assistant Professor (2016–2019), at Lancaster University, UK. He is co-director of the Early Career Fellowship Programme at the Work and Family Researchers Network (2024–). He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Marriage and Family (2020–), and formerly Sociology (2020–2022) and Sociology Compass (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 in 2022 and 2023 (latest). At Lancaster, his leadership in global digital innovation and international partnership development has been recognised through two University Staff Awards ("International Impact of the Year") and one Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean's Staff Award since 2018.

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 research contributes to advancing family and work equity and justice. It advances understandings of how macro socio-economic, political and institutional developments and cultural changes, as well as emergent crises, (re)configure everyday work and family lives. 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). 

At Lancaster, Yang is affiliated with the Centre for Gender Studies, Centre for Mobilities Research, Migrancy Research Group, Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies, Centre for Child and Family Justice Research, Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities, Lancaster University China Centre, Data Science Institute, Future Cities Research Institute. He also (co-)convenes the Lancaster Asia Area Research Group (LAARG). 

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).