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Social Inequality and Gender Equality

We conduct research on key dimensions of inequality in our society. For selected socio-structural areas (e.g., education, income, wealth, labor market participation), we analyze trends and causes of unequal opportunities in a national, European, and international context. We focus on gender-, class-, and migration-based inequalities. One research focus is on gender inequality in science and research.

Our current research focuses on

  • Educational inequalities and skill acquisition: We analyze trends and causes for unequal educational opportunities and different skill endowment in temporal and international comparison. The focus here is on gender-, class-, and migration-based inequalities.
  • Migration and integration: We examine attitudes towards migration and integration and analyze ethnic discrimination in different markets.
  • Gender relations in science: We examine existing gender inequalities in scientific institutions from an intersectional perspective. Current topics include the recording and effects of gender-based violence in science and gender-specific aspects of work and organizational culture.
  • Gender gap among managers: We analyze the gender gap in leadership positions, considering labor market sectors and working hours in a European comparison.
  • Division of labor among couples: We examine the division of labor of couples in gainful employment and family work.

Research Output

  • Bohr, Jeanette, and Nadia Granato. 2024. "Gender inequality in leadership positions: The role of part-time employment in seven European countries." Soziale Welt 75 (1): 78-112. doi: 10.5771/0038-6073-2024-1-78.
  • Müller, Nora, Klaus Pforr, and Jascha Dräger. 2023. "Wealth stratification and the insurance function of wealth." Social Inclusion 11 (1): 128-34. doi: 10.17645/si.v11i1.6680. 
  • Naumann, Elias, Marvin Brinkmann, and Katja Möhring. 2024. "The ethnic penalty in welfare deservingness: A factorial survey experiment on welfare chauvinism in pension attitudes in Germany." Journal of European Social Policy 34 (2): 190-202. doi: 10.1177/09589287231222840.
  • Nutz, Theresa. 2022. "In sole or joint names? The role of employment and marriage biographies for married women’s asset ownership in later life." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 79: 100690 (replication files: https://osf.io/scza7). doi: 10.1016/j.rssm.2022.100690.
  • Schredl, Claudia, Anke Lipinsky, and Anne Laure Humbert. 2025. "You can’t see what you don’t measure! A scoping review of measurements of gender-based violence, its determinants and consequences in academia." PLoS ONE 20 (2): 1-21. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317872.