Prof. Shira Offer

Professor Offer received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 2006. Her main research interests include personal networks, social support, work and family, parenting, and gender inequality. As a sociologist studying families, Offer's research is motivated by the concern about how the current social and economic climate affects the well-being and functioning of families from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. She is currently involved in two main research projects. Offer is a faculty member of the University of California Social Network Study (UCNets), a longitudinal egocentric network survey on personal relationships, life events, and wellbeing (for more information see http://ucnets.berkeley.edu/.) Her research with UCNets examines the sources, correlates, and implications for wellbeing of people’s supportive and burdensome relationships. Her second research project, funded by the Israel Science Foundation, is a comparative investigation of the links between perceptions of masculinity, involvement in childcare, and the work-family interface among fathers of young children. Her research has been published in leading journals, including the American Sociological Review, Annual Review of Sociology, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Forces, Gender & Society, Social Science Research, Community, Work, and Family, The Sociological Quarterly, Sociological Forum, Current Sociology.