I’ve been researching family policies and young families for more than a decade. The question of how the context we live in influences our personal decisions has always been central in my research.

In my earlier work, I researched the conditions under which people in different European countries decide to have children. I was especially interested in what role parental leave policies play in these decisions.

This research led me to reconsideration of the conventional ways in which we measure and analyse policies. I was looking for an alternative that would allow me to find what family policy support means for each family. This was very important to me because many family policies are complex and often don’t offer the same support to everyone. That brought me to microsimulation methods and the development of my own solution.

I have expertise in European parental leave policies and the gender division of paid and unpaid work. I’m also interested in the accessibility of policies for diverse social groups and people’s awareness of policies and their own entitlements. In my research, I’m primarily using quantitative methodology.

I’m currently employed as a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Sociological Research at KU Leuven, Belgium.