Yasmin A. Mertehikian

I am a joint Ph.D. candidate in Sociology and Demography at the University of Pennsylvania. I specialize in gender, work, social stratification, fertility, and reproductive health. I combine large-scale survey data with qualitative data to understand how economic crises affect labor market inequalities from an intersectional approach. Most of my research focuses on gender disparities in labor market outcomes in developing countries after the COVID-19 pandemic. My dissertation explores gender differences in the short- and longer-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment status in Argentina, paying attention to differences between public and private sectors as well as the specific case of domestic workers. Prior to starting my Ph.D., I also conducted research on reproductive health, gender, and sexuality in Argentina. My research has been published in journals in the US and Latin America, such as Socius and Revista Brasileira de Estudos de População. I have received generous support from the Fulbright Commission, the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, and the National Scientific Council of Argentina, as well as the School of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies, the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration, and the Population Studies Center at Penn.

I graduated from Universidad de Buenos Aires with a B.A. in Sociology and later pursued an MA in Social Sciences at Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, both in Argentina. At Penn, I also earned an MA in Sociology.