Anni Ni

I study gender, migration, and meanings of life.

Portrait of Anni Ni

Greetings! I am Anni Ni, a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the National University of Singapore.

My research focuses on migration and gender. My dissertation project draws upon ethnographic data to examine the migratory decisions, experiences, and meaning-making of single, skilled Chinese migrants in Singapore. This research was initially inspired by my curiosity about the women’s diaspora amid shifting gender dynamics in China, where women’s mobilities are caught in the dilemma of educational advancement, financial independence, and prevailing patriarchal pressures. As data collection progressed, I expanded the project to incorporate a broader discussion of gender, exploring the changing values and cultural meanings of singlehood and migration in a precarious, post-pandemic world.

My recent publication, based on the first stage of my data collection, captures gendered individualization among never-married female migrants, who reflect on gender norms, develop femininity-based solidarities, and explore alternative lifestyles though a self-oriented turn necessitated by their transnational migration.

Another line of my ongoing research traces women’s experiences in transnational migration across their life courses, focusing on Chinese female migrant students in Singapore and the dynamics of transnational stay-at-home motherhood.

My work has been published in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, The China Quarterly, Gender and Society, and Chinese Sociological Review.

I hold a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Before embarking on my Ph.D., I worked as a business consultant specializing in human capital advisory services.

Updates

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