CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Penn State Lehigh Valley is hosting diverse speakers this semester as part of its annual Faculty Invitational Lecture Series. All events are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
The first lecture, presented by Yuping Zhang, is titled "Diverging Fortunes: The Evolution of Gender Wage Gaps for Singles, Couples and Parents in China." The lecture will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, in Room 302 at Penn State Lehigh Valley, located at 2809 Saucon Valley Road in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.
Zhang's presentation will discuss the position of women in the workplace in China and present what most research has not considered: the possibility that trends in gender disparities might diverge depending on the family status of women. Zhang will review her research, which studies whether gender wage gap trends differ for single people, compared to married people and parents. And whether changes in gaps can be linked to the shift away from socialist institutions to privatized workplaces. Zhang will present the data and models she has utilized to study this issue that account for multiple observations.
Zhang is an associate professor of sociology at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. Zhang received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Her interests include educational stratification; market reform and gender inequality in China; cultural studies and media; gender and development; and ritual theory.
The event is organized and hosted by the Faculty Invitational Lecture Series Committee and is supported by the student activity fee.