Manlin Cai

Welcome! My name is Manlin Cai. I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia.

My scholarship examines how workplace institutions and digital technologies shape inequality across work and family life, connecting economic sociology, social stratification, and technology and society. My research has followed two major lines of inquiry. First, I use quantitative methods to examine gender inequality at the work-family interface. I am particularly interested in how workplace authority shapes workplace relations, family dynamics, and well-being. Second, my research investigates how racialized immigrants navigate economic and social integration through education, employment, and intimate relationships. I pay special attention to the role of digital technology. Leveraging both quantitative and qualitative methods, my research analyzes large-scale nationally representative datasets alongside in-depth interviews.

I have 12 peer-reviewed articles forthcoming or published in leading journals, including Social Forces, Work and Occupations, and Canadian Review of Sociology. My research has received multiple awards and honours from the Work and Family Researchers Network, Canadian Population Society, and Canadian Sociological Association.

I received my Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of British Columbia in 2026, M.A. in Social Sciences (Sociology) from the University of Chicago in 2019, and B.A. in Economics from Peking University in 2018.