Melissa Hodges is Associate Professor and Sociology Program Director in the Sociology and Criminology department at Villanova University. Her research primarily focuses on the economic inequalities associated with unpaid caring labor within families and paid care work occupations in healthcare, education, and social services. Melissa was a member of the Carework Network Steering Committee from 2019-2022, and rejoined in 2025 to Co-Chair the Journal committee.

Selected Publications:

Melissa J. Hodges. 2020. “Intersections on the Class Escalator: Gender, Race, and Occupational Segregation in Paid Care Work.” Sociological Forum 35(1): 24-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/socf.12566

Michelle J. Budig, Melissa J. Hodges, and Paula England. 2019. “Wages of Nurturantand Reproductive Care Workers: Individual and Job Characteristics, OccupationalClosure, and Wage-Equalizing Institutions.”  Social Problems 66: 294-319. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spy007.