Research on class, gender, ethnicity and age as sources of inequality, in East and Southeast Asia and comparatively.

What we study. This cluster explores the changing nature of social inequality in relation to class, gender, race and ethnicity, age, and other social divisions, in a global context and within East and Southeast Asia. It spans work and labour markets, education and skills, health, marriage and family, religion, migration and sexuality. The cluster brings together quantitative and qualitative research, and provides a platform for sociologists and anthropologists working across these fields.

Recent work. Duoduo Xu has published on the reverse gender gap in academic achievement under equal opportunity policy (2025), on childcare support and women’s labour supply in Hong Kong (2024), and on hukou, school segregation and educational inequality in urban China (2022). Eric Fong’s study of income inequality among South Asians in Hong Kong, examining race, religion and human capital, appeared in Asian Population Studies (2025). Youbin Kang’s research on status, meritocracy and solidarity among Seoul subway workers was published in Social Problems (2024), alongside earlier work on transnational labour regulation in Bangladesh. Cheris Chan’s study of network structure and migrant construction workers’ protests appeared in The China Quarterly (2022). Travis Kong works with older sexual minorities in Hong Kong using oral history and participatory action research. Satoshi Araki holds a Faculty seed grant on education- and skills-based gradients in well-being.

James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Centre on Socio-Economic Inequality in Asia