Brigitte Schels

Brigitte Schels is a Professor of Empirical Social Structure Analysis at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. She has held prior positions as a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg, an Assistant Professor of Labor Market Sociology at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), and a Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna.

• Current affiliation: Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Prior affiliations: IAB Nuremberg, FAU, University of Vienna
• Education: Diploma in Social Sciences (FAU), Doctorate (University of Mannheim)

Research Focus:

• (Re)production of social inequalities in labor markets and households
• School-to-work transitions, occupational choice, and gender segregation in employment
• Poverty, social exclusion, and their societal consequences

Article Trends: Recent work spans economic expectations during crises, policy evaluations for unemployment programs, gender disparities in job security, and educational transitions in Germany/Austria. Methodologically grounded in quantitative analysis and panel studies.

Teaching Philosophy: Empowers students to engage with social inequality through theoretical and empirical frameworks, fostering independent research agendas and sociopolitical discourse.