International Sociology and International Sociology Reviews

‘Social Mobility and Gender’ is our Topic of the Month for January 2026. On this topic, enjoy Free Access to this article by Ildefonso Marqués-Perales (Universidad de Sevilla, Spain) and Juan Miguel Gómez-Espino (Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain) published in International Sociology, The role of working women in social mobility in Spain. Read on to know more about the authors’ trajectory and work.

Ildefonso Marqués-Perales

Juan Miguel Gómez-Espino

Why are you working on this topic? Could you share an experience, a fact or a person who made you get engaged in that research?

I. Marqués-Perales: The question is clear. Social mobility studies traditionally exclude one parent from their analysis. Our premise is that the presence of both parents in the household influences children, facilitating the intergenerational transmission of advantages. Methodologically, this approach has not been widely implemented due to its complexity. In our research, we extend the main theories of social mobility to the case of both parents. Some interpretations have confused the issue of including mothers and fathers with theories about social mobility trends. Theories on social mobility trends (e.g., modernization, trendless fluctuation) are distinct from the methodological question of including one or two progenitors.

What would you emphasize about your academic trajectory? Can you highlight which have been your academic positions, universities, awards, departments and research centers?

I. Marqués-Perales: I began my academic career from a highly theoretical perspective. My doctoral thesis focused on the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. From his work, I learned the powerful and valuable insight that social class is a fundamental sociological concept. After obtaining my PhD, I began working as a researcher at the Centre for Andalusian Studies, where I essentially learned quantitative methods. Since 2008, I have worked at the university as a Senior Lecturer. In 2016, I conducted a research visit to Tilburg University to collaborate with Ruud Luijkx, one of the leading experts in log-linear methods. My research interests extend beyond Spain and Europe to include Latin American countries. I have received the Quality Award from the Association of Sociology of Andalusia on two occasions. My primary research area is social mobility and social classes, a subject on which I have published in top international journals such as the British Journal of Sociology, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Social Indicators Research, International Sociology, and many others.

J.M. Gómez-Espino: I am a Full Professor of Sociology at Pablo de Olavide University (Seville). Since 2001, I have combined teaching and research in the sociology of childhood and education with university management responsibilities (currently serving as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences). I hold a degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Granada and have been a PhD since 2009. I have published several works in high-impact journals such as Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, Empiria, Childhood, International Sociology, and Language and Education, as well as book chapters with publishers such as Springer. In addition, I have been a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) and Gramma (Cuba). I have received the Economic and Social Council of Andalusia Award in 2023, and the Quality Mention Award from the Andalusian Association of Sociology in 2023.