Therese Bay-Smidt Christensen's PhD defense at the Department of Sociology

Candidate 

Therese Bay-Smidt Christensen

Therese Bay-Smidt Christensen, Department of Sociology, KU

Title

BALANCING ACT
- Reconciling family and work over the life course

Committe:

  • Associate Professor Friedolin Merhout (chair), Department of Sociology, KU
  • Professor of Demography, Gunnar Andersson, Stockholm University
  • Associate Professor Giulia Maria Dotti Sani, University of Milan

Supervisor: Professor Mads Meier Jæger, Department of Sociology, KU

Host

Bente Halkier, Professor, Department of Sociology

Time and place

3 June 2024, kl. 13:00 - 16:00
Auditorium 1.1.18. (First floor, building 1, CSS)
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Social Sciences, Øster Farimagsgade 5A, 1353 København K.

The PhD dissertation will be available through Academic Books as an e-publication.

After the defense, all are welcome at a reception in meeting room 16.1.62 from approx. 15:00. First floor at the Department of Sociology.

Engelsk resume (shortened)

Work and family are two pivotal spheres in people's lives that significantly influence each other. The interplay between these spheres becomes particularly pronounced during major life changes or events such as the birth of a child or a health crisis.

These events can affect not just the individual experiencing them but the entire network of interlinked and interdependent
family members. Significant family events can potentially increase the caregiving responsibilities of family members. This may lead individuals to reevaluate and adjust their involvement in the workforce as they seek to balance these added responsibilities with their work lives.

Overall, the dissertation offers insights into balancing family life events and labor market activities in the context of the Danish welfare state. This research underscores the 9 critical role of family relationships in understanding labor market trajectories. It also highlights critical role of family relationships in understanding labor market trajectories.

It also highlights that gendered patterns in that gendered patterns in terms of terms of reconciling work and family life, while still significant, vary reconciling work and family life, while still significant, vary in impact across different family events and are influenced by the surrounding policy context. across different family events and are influenced by the surrounding policy context.

In three empirical chapters, this dissertation examines how significant family events can influence work life and economic resources, particularly in the context of Denmark's comprehensive welfare system. These studies rely on Danish administrative data, which is uniquely suited to study the intersection of linked family lives and labor market trajectories, as individuals can be linked to family members and observed on many labor market measures. 

All are welcome to participate.