Kari Wærness (born 13 January 1939) is a Norwegian sociologist.
Her research has focused on women and gender studies, family and caring.
Wærness was born on 13 January 1939 in Leknes to Einar Loe and Aslaug Marie Eidsvåg.
Along with her husband she settled in Mosjøen, where she worked as teacher in mathematics in secondary school until 1967.
Back in Bergen, she started studying sociology and political science, and graduated as cand.polit.