Dr. Paula Thijs is senior researcher and project leader at Atria. She studies gender stereotypes and choices in education, work and care among young adults for the project Werk.en.de Toekomst (A Working Future). She is also involved in projects on, among others, (online) gender-based violence, online hate speech against female leaders, gender inequality and climate change, and women in politics.

Paula studied Sociology (BA) and Social and Cultural Sciences (MA) at Radboud University. In 2019 she obtained her PhD in Sociology with a study on trends in cultural conservatism in the Netherlands and Europe. Between 2018 and 2021, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam where she coordinated a longitudinal study on social inequalities in adolescents’ democratic values and political socialization. Paula has years of experience with quantitative research methods and large scale survey research.

Thematic expertise

Gender norms and stereotypes, gender inequality in the labour market and in politics, online hate speech and violence against women in leading roles, conservatism, social inequality, intersectionality, diversity and inclusion, education, adolescents

Methodical expertise

Academic research, large scale survey design, quantitative research methods and analysis