Maria Charles

Maria Charles is a sociologist who investigates how and why patterns of gender inequality and popular understandings of gender vary across geographic contexts and socio-demographic groups. An elected fellow of the American Academy for Advancement of Science and the Sociological Research Association, Professor Charles is best known for her cross-national comparative research on gender segregation by occupation and by field of study. Supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, and Spencer Foundation, Charles’ research has appeared in major national and international outlets, including American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Demography, Social Forces, European Sociological Review, Gender & Society, and Stanford University Press. Recent projects with graduate students and other collaborators explore the variable gender composition of STEM fields within and across countries, gender beliefs in Africa and the Middle East, and effects of cultural stereotypes on perceptions, aspirations, and the gendering of career outcomes.