Stacia Kock

Research Interest

My research examines the intersections of gender, disability, and the ideal worker; specifically, I explore how mothers of children with disabilities (or atypical health care needs) navigate the American work environment, policies, and social expectations of the ideal mother and the ideal worker. I analyze issues such as the motherhood penalty for working mothers of children with disabilities, using BLS data to explore whether a there exists any impact from a child's health on the wages earned by the working mother. I also examine how working mothers to children with disabilities navigate the workplace, what policies/structures they turn to for assistance, what social policies current exist that improve or disrupt their employment, and what social narratives impact their identities as mothers and workers.