The year’s best work-family research: 2026 Kanter Award Finalists to present research at WFRN Virtual Conference Series
On September 18, 2026, from 11:00am–12:30pm EDT, this year’s Kanter Award finalists will take the (virtual) stage to share their research, hosted by the Work and Family Researchers Network. The free session wraps with a Q&A facilitated by Kanter Award Chair, Jeremy Reynolds.
Registration and details: https://wfrn.org/event/virtual-conference-series-event-the-years-best-work-family-research-2026-kanter-award-finalists-present-their-research/
The 2026 Finalists:
- Tiantian Yang – WINNER “‘Why I searched alone’: Understanding mothers’ hesitation to seek network assistance during workforce reentry,” published in Organization Science
https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.18098 - Constantin Lagios – “Seeing the good in the bad: A self-affirmation model of organizational dehumanization,” published in the Journal of Applied Psychology
https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001298 - Abigail Ocobock – “Cognitive labor, power, and patriarchal bargains: Not-so-invisible barriers to gendered change,” published in Gender & Society
https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432251342260
These studies reflect today’s work-family scholarship, from organizational psychology to family policy to gender and labor economics. Each finalist emerged from a rigorous, multi-round review process involving dozens of scholars across disciplines and institutions, evaluating research for both scientific rigor and real-world impact on workplace practice.
Visit the Kanter Award page to explore the full list of past winners and nominees: https://centers.purdue.edu/cff/initiatives/kanteraward/