I am currently a researcher at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Research (NIDI-KNAW) and an associate professor in sociology at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University.

 

I completed my PhD at the Interuniversity Centre for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS) at Utrecht University in 2018. After that, I spend two years as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology at the Radboud University Nijmegen. 

 

Current projects

Work and family inequality: Queer and Adoptive Families.

Same-sex couples provide the unique opportunity to study gender roles and gender inequality without the interference of sex. For example, same-sex couples cannot base their work and family lives on traditional gender norms that prescribe that the man should be the breadwinner and the woman should be the caregiver. Although some people think that one partner in same-sex couples takes on the "male" role and the other partner the "female" role, this is incorrect. But how do parents in same-sex couples arrange their work and family lives? Who is more likely to stay at home to take care of the children? Do (heterosexual) gender norms influence same-sex couples' division of labor for queer parents? Does it matter if same-sex couples live in countries where gender norms are more traditional or where homosexuality is more frowned upon? These are some of the questions I tackle in current projects (VENI + RJ).

 

Bridging the earnings gap. What LGBT-couples tell us about gender inequality  (supported by a VENI grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO))

Major life events, such as marriage, children and separation, generate and amplify gender differences in earnings trajectories. Explanations for these inequalities are often based on differences between men and women, but how do these events affect (in)equalities in same-sex couples? By comparing earnings trajectories of male and female same-sex couples to different-sex couples, this project identifies the true impact of gender on earnings inequalities across major life transitions. My VENI project uses the largest source of information on same-sex couples to date, which increases our understanding how they organize their work and family life in different countries.

 

Why do gender inequalities in work and care persist? Parents’ division of labor across contemporary families. (Supported by Riksbankens Jubileumfond).

The transition to parenthood is critical in producing and amplifying gender inequalities in work and family life. After parenthood, mothers take on the vast majority of childcare responsibilities, which slows down their income development and career opportunities to a much greater extent than for men. This project reveals sources of gender inequality in work and care after parenthood by studying income trajectories and parental leave use across different family types: male and female same-sex couples, adoptive and biological different-sex couples, and multiparent families. By comparing these family types, we unravel how skewed divisions of labor are explained by (1) pregnancy/giving birth, (2) biological ties, (3) norms towards mothers as caregivers and fathers as breadwinners, and/or (4) motherhood/fatherhood identities. We use longitudinal register data from Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway to create the largest, representative cross-national dataset on each family type to date, allowing us to be the first to quantitatively asses work and family patterns of gay fathers and multiparent families. 

 

Gender differences in fields of study

Boys and girls make different educational choices, which leads to gendered labor market prospects and family lives. My research focusses on many factors that might contribute to these gender differentials. I have studied the role of internalized gender ideologies, (relative) ability, parents, family structure, siblings, and friends. The findings are published in my dissertation "Gendered choices. Fields of study of adolescents in the Netherlands" as well as various other peer-reviewed articles. Do not hesitate to contact me for more information about my dissertation or publications regarding this topic.

 

Live music and quality of life of people with dementia

In another project, I showed that live music performances improve aspects of the quality of life of people with dementia. The foundation ‘Diva Dichtbij’ (Diva in Proximity) gives intimate live music performances - performed by professional singers trained in making non-verbal contact - for people with a chronic illness. Our results show that these performances can be an inexpensive, noninvasive, feasible modality of complimentary care in elderly homes.