Research assistant - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences and has approximately 90 employees. SOFI is one of Sweden's leading research environments in the areas of labor market, social policy and equality. Our premises are located on the university's Frescati campus, Södrahuset, Hus F. More information about us, please visit: www.sofi.su.se.

The institute is now looking for a research assistant to work within an international comparative project on the use of parenting leave provisions (paid time-off from work to care for newborns). The project is located at the institute's social policy unit, where the causes of the development of the welfare state and the consequences of social policy for individuals and society are studied. A large part of the research at the unit is comparative, where Swedish conditions are compared internationally.

Project description

Across Europe, many recent reforms to parenting leave provisions aim to facilitate more gender-equal caregiving of children. Yet, fathers still take considerably less parental leave than mothers, even in Sweden, which has been a model for gender egalitarian family policy for decades. Despite considerable historical and cross-national variation, comparative studies of leave policy outcomes are rare, and we know little about whether the same provisions promote similar levels of leave use across institutional contexts. This project examines relationships between parenting leave provisions and gendered leave use. Multi-level analyses will combine individual-level survey data for 31 countries from 2010 and 2018 with unique country-level data on parenting leave provisions collected by the research team. 

Main responsibilities

A main task for the research assistant will be to prepare the multi-level dataset for two sets of analyses. Using Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey data, the research assistant will combine yearly data with data collected from the 2010 and 2018 work-life reconciliation modules. This individual-level data will be nested within countries and tied to available parenting leave provisions. We measure these provisions with indicators developed by our research team at SOFI. In addition to preparing this dataset, the research assistant will investigate policy developments in a few other countries that need to be included in the dataset on parenting leave provisions. The work may also involve preparing literature reviews toward publication of the research. Prior training in quantitative methods is required, and experience with preparing large datasets is an asset.

Qualification requirements

We are looking for someone who is:

• Educated in sociology or another social science subject, with a completed bachelor's degree or higher
• Interested in social policy issues and social science theory
• Prepared to develop, process and analyze legislation and statistical data
• Fearless when working with statistical programs
• Proficient in spoken and written English
• Trained in quantitative social research, and
• Experienced in handling MS Office and Stata.

About the employment

The employment is for 75 % - 100 % for 5-8 months. Stockholm University applies individual salary setting. Start date 2025-11-01 or as agreed.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact

For more information, please contact Dr. Cassandra Engeman, phone: +46 8 16 20 75, cassandra.engeman@sofi.su.se.

Application

Apply for the position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete and that it is submitted before the deadline. Please only attach a personal letter and CV, in which experience in quantitative research methods and work with data processing program. Please bring copies of your grades and certificates with you to any interview. 

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.