Rania Salem

Rania Salem

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Scarborough

Professor Salem’s teaching and research interests lie at the intersection of the sociology of families, gender studies, economic sociology, international development, social demography, and Middle East studies. She has studied the implications of matrimonial expenditures in Egypt for marriage timing, women’s power within marriage, and secret marriages. She has also collaborated on projects that investigate how experiences of intimate partner violence influence the performance of different types of work among Egyptian women, the impact of various types of women’s work on their agency in Egypt, and kin influences on young women’s transitions into the labor force in Qatar. Her current project uses qualitative interviews with dual-earning couples in Egypt to explore how seemingly similar monies are understood and treated differently based on the gender of the earner. Salem’s research has been funded by the International Development Research Center, the Economic Research Forum, and the Qatar National Research Fund, and her research has been published in Journal of Family Issues, Demographic Research, Gender, Work & Organization, and Qualitative Sociology, among others.

Areas of Interest:

  • Sociology of families
  • Gender studies
  • Economic sociology
  • Social demography

Education:

  • PhD ,Sociology, Princeton University, 2011
  • MSc , Sociology, University of Oxford, 2004
  • BA, Political Science, American University in Cairo, Egypt, 2001

Experience:

  • Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Scarborough, 2020-present
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Scarborough, 2012-2019
  • David E. Bell Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University, 2011-2012
  • Consultant, World Bank Gender, Economic Research, and Policy Analysis pilot study “Domestic Violence, Women’s Health and Women’s Economic and Non-Economic Activities in Minya, Egypt”, 2010-2011

Latest Publications:

  • Salem, Rania. 2022. “The Gendered Relationship between Sex and Marriage: Interrogating Secret Marriages Among Egyptian Youth in Cairo and Minya.” Pp. 131-152 in Sex in the Middle East and North Africa, edited by Lisa L. Wynn and Angel M. Foster. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
  • Salem, Rania, Yuk Fai Cheong, Stephanie S. Miedema, and Kathryn M. Yount. 2020. “Women’s Agency in Egypt: Construction and Validation of a Multidimensional Scale in Rural Minya.” Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 26(6):652–659. DOI: 10.26719/2020.26.6.652
  • Salem, Rania and Sarah Shah. 2019. “Economic Rationales for Kin Marriage: Assessing the Evidence Using Egyptian Data.” Demographic Research 41(19): 545-578. DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2019.41.19
Correlates of Kin Marriage in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia

Areas of Interest: Sociology of families Gender studies Economic sociology Social demography Education: PhD ,Sociology, Princeton University, 2011... Read More

December, 2016

Working Papers
Is Women’s Work A Pathway to their Agency in Rural Egypt?

Areas of Interest: Sociology of families Gender studies Economic sociology Social demography Education: PhD ,Sociology, Princeton University, 2011... Read More

June, 2015

Working Papers
Gendering the Costs and Benefits of the Arab Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt Using the Gallup Surveys

Areas of Interest: Sociology of families Gender studies Economic sociology Social demography Education: PhD ,Sociology, Princeton University, 2011... Read More

May, 2015

Working Papers
Changes in the Institution of Marriage in Egypt from 1998 To 2012

Areas of Interest: Sociology of families Gender studies Economic sociology Social demography Education: PhD ,Sociology, Princeton University, 2011... Read More

May, 2015

Working Papers
Trends and Differentials in Jordanian Marriage Behavior: Marriage Timing, Spousal Characteristics, Household Structure and Matrimonial Expenditures

Areas of Interest: Sociology of families Gender studies Economic sociology Social demography Education: PhD ,Sociology, Princeton University, 2011... Read More

April, 2012

Working Papers
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