【NTUSW X 1131 Academic Lecture】

Improving the Economic Well-Being of Single-Parent Families: Insights from Cross-National Research
 

!!! Information Update !!!
Dear colleagues, due to the intensification of the typhoon, this lecture will now be conducted in a hybrid format, with both in-person and online participation. If the Taipei City Government announces a suspension of work and classes on Friday, November 1st, the lecture will transition to an entirely online format. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

• Time：Nov. 1st, 2024 (Friday) 13:00-14:00
• Location: R401 at the Department of Social Work, NTU • Speaker: Laurie C. Maldonado (Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Columbia University)
• Host: Julia Shu-Huah WANG, Associate Professor, NTUSW

※ This lecture will be conducted in English.

• About the Speaker
Laurie C. Maldonado is a social worker, educator, and international scholar focused on single-parent families and social policy. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work (CSSW) and holds an MSW and PhD in social welfare from UCLA. Maldonado studies gender inequality, poverty, and how social policy interacts with families. Her research aims to inform policies and practices to improve the lives of single parents and their families in the US and across countries. Most of her work to date, is cross-sectional, comparative, and uses quantitative data. 
Her work has appeared in journals and has been cited in UN Women reports, the European Union, and as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Maldonado is currently expanding her research to explore shared parenting after separation and blended families. Prior to her academic career, she worked as a social worker serving women and children in community organizations.

• About the Lecture
The seminar will explore socioeconomic challenges faced by single-parent families across different countries, with a focus on redistribution, labor market strategies, and family policies. Through comparative cross-national analyses, the study highlights the persistent poverty rates among single-parent households, exacerbated by inadequate employment protections, gender wage gaps, and limited social safety nets. The findings demonstrate that robust family policies, such as paid parental leave, child allowances, and employment protections, significantly reduce poverty levels for single parents. Future research directions aim to investigate shared parenting dynamics and the potential for policy reforms that support separated parents and their families.

※ No registration required, walk-in welcome.


Event Organizer: the Department of Social Work, NTU

This Lecture is supported by Taiwan Ministry of Education Yushan Young Fellow Program (NTU-113V1018-2)