Rate My Professor Janeen Baxter

Professor Janeen Baxter is a Professor in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland, affiliated with the Institute for Social Science Research. She holds a BA (Honours) and MA in Sociology from the Australian National University and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Queensland in 1989, with her thesis titled 'Work at home: the domestic division of labour'. Her career encompasses academic appointments at the Australian National University, University of Tasmania, and University of Queensland, complemented by visiting positions at the University of Wisconsin, University of Manchester, and University College London. Baxter has held several ARC fellowships, including a Post-doctoral Fellowship, Professorial Fellowship, and the current Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellowship. Since 2014, she has directed the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course.

Baxter's research examines social disadvantage, gender inequality, household and family dynamics, and life course pathways using longitudinal data. She has authored or edited over 340 works, including the book 'Family Dynamics over the Life Course: Foundations, Turning Points and Outcomes' (2022, Springer), chapters such as 'COVID19 and gender gaps in paid and unpaid work' (2026, Routledge) and 'Class and inequality in Australia' (2023, Routledge), and numerous journal articles on topics like parenthood's impact on gender attitudes and intergenerational disadvantage transmission. A Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, she was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2024. She has chaired the ARC College of Experts' Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences panel, served on editorial boards including as Section Editor for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, advised government committees like the Child Support Expert Committee, and supervised 24 completed higher degree students.