Rate My Professor Karla Elliott

Dr. Karla Elliott is a Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, where she earned her PhD in Sociology. As a gender scholar, her expertise encompasses the intersections of gender with social and health inequalities, including those related to disability, social class, sexuality, and race. Her research focuses on men and masculinities, migrant and refugee communities in Australia, family violence, and young people. Elliott's work tackles critical societal challenges, such as advancing gender equality, engaging men and boys, promoting ‘caring masculinities’, improving social inclusion, addressing family violence, and leveraging digital technologies for social benefit. Primarily a qualitative researcher, she utilizes narrative methods, interviews, focus groups, digital approaches, and evaluations of community interventions, complemented by quantitative analysis to gauge shifts in gender-related attitudes and knowledge.

Elliott's career includes prior roles as Research Fellow at the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre (2018) and the University of Melbourne's Centre for Health Equity (2019). She co-leads VicHealth-funded research on men’s risky drinking and evaluates gender transformative programs promoting healthy masculinities. As Chief Investigator on Australian Research Council grants, she explores men in low-paid healthcare and social assistance roles (DP220103315) and alcohol practices in crises (SR200200364). Key publications include her book Young Men Navigating Contemporary Masculinities (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), the award-winning article “Caring Masculinities: Theorizing an Emerging Concept” (Men and Masculinities, 2016), “Caring Masculinities among Working-Class Men in Blue-Collar Occupations in the UK” (Gender, Work & Organization, 2024), and forthcoming pieces on young men’s political subjectivities in healthcare and immigrant men’s engagement in family violence prevention. Recognized with the 2019 VicHealth Research into Action Award, the 2018 Most Distinguished Early Career Researcher Article Award, a 2021 Special Commendation for Research Excellence, and a 2020 Teaching Commendation, Elliott has served on the editorial board of Men and Masculinities (2021–2024) and as guest editor for Outskirts: Feminisms along the Edge (2017). Her scholarship significantly influences gender studies and informs policies on equality and violence prevention.