Elizabeth M. "Becky" Pettit (born February 4, 1970) is an American sociologist with expertise in

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

. She has been a professor of sociology at the

University of Texas-Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, as well as an affiliate at its Population Research Center, since 2014. She is an advocate for decarceration in the United States.

Education

Pettit received her B.A.

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

in 1992. She went on to receive her M.A. and Ph.D. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1997 and 1999, respectively.

Career

In 1999, Pettit joined the faculty of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

as an assistant professor of sociology, where she became an associate professor in 2007 and a full professor in 2011. For two years (2009–2011), she was the associate chair of the University of Washington's sociology department. In 2014, she left the University of Washington for the University of Texas-Austin.

Research

Pettit's research focuses on various aspects of

social inequality Social inequality occurs when resources within a society are distributed unevenly, often as a result of inequitable allocation practices that create distinct unequal patterns based on socially defined categories of people. Differences in acce ...

. For instance, in her 2012 book ''Invisible Men: Mass Incarceration and the Myth of Black Progress'', she argues that mass incarceration in the United States has distorted our perception of racial equality because government surveys tend to undercount prisoners. When, in this book, she added prisoners to these surveys, she found that the status of black Americans has not significantly improved since the 1960s. She has also studied the effects of incarceration on families and racial inequality. With Bruce Western, she has also studied other social consequences of incarceration, such as decreased earnings for former prisoners.

Editorial activities

From 2011 to 2014, Pettit was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of ''

Social Problems A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

''. She is currently an advisory editor for ''Social Problems'' and a member of the editorial board of ''

American Sociological Review The ''American Sociological Review'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of sociology. It is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the American Sociological Association. It was established in 1936. It is along ...

''.

References

External links

Faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Becky 1970 births Living people American sociologists American women sociologists Princeton University alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Washington faculty American academic journal editors 21st-century American women