Research on Mothers’ Reluctance to Seek Help During Workforce Reentry Wins 2026 Kanter Award

Tiantian Yang and Hyo Young Lee have received the 2026 Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research for their article, “Why I Searched Alone: Understanding Mothers’ Hesitation to Seek Network Assistance During Workforce Reentry,” published in Organization Science. Widely regarded as one of the highest honors in work-family scholarship, the Kanter Award recognizes research that combines scientific rigor with practical impact on work and family issues.

Their study examines why many mothers returning to paid employment after a career interruption hesitate to seek help from personal and professional networks, revealing how concerns about identity, independence, and social obligations can become barriers to workforce reentry.

The award was presented at the 2026 Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN) Conference, where finalists were also recognized. Held in Montreal, the biennial conference brought together more than 400 scholars and stakeholders.

Yang and Lee’s article was selected from a distinguished group of 2026 Kanter Award Top Nominees representing leading scholarship on work and family. Administered by Purdue University’s Center for Families, the Kanter Award identifies the most outstanding work-family research published worldwide each year.

Yang, T., & Lee, H. Y. (2025). “Why I searched alone”: Understanding mothers’ hesitation to seek network assistance during workforce reentry. Organization Science, 36(6), 2150–2184. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.18098