Professor of Sociology & Chair of the Graduate Department, University of Toronto
Phone:
416-946-5892
Email:
melissa.milkie@utoronto.ca
Topics of Expertise:
Children / Division of Labor in Families / Gender & Sexuality / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / Parenthood: Motherhood/Fatherhood / Transition – Couples to Parenting / Work & Family
Melissa A. Milkie is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Graduate Department at the University of Toronto. Milkie’s research examines family, gender, culture and social change. She is the co-author of Changing Rhythms of American Family Life (2006) which documents how parents’ time with children and in housework, paid work and leisure has changed over the past decades. The research shows increases in married mothers’ and fathers’ time with children in primary activities and in “total time” with children. Another strand of Milkie’s research centers on work-family conflicts and feelings about time with children, and the implications of these for mental health. Finally, Milkie researches cultural frames about motherhood and fatherhood — projects include trends in and meanings of 1) “The Mommy Wars” rhetoric in news media and 2) benefits of father involvement and 3) blame for fathers’ low involvement with children as depicted in Parents’ Magazine. Milkie’s work is published in journals such as Social Forces, Journal of Marriage and Family, American Sociological Review, and Society & Mental Health.
