Dr. Tanja van der Lippe
Professor of Sociology
Utrecht University
Brief summary of research over last 5 years / academic profile
Tanja van der Lippe is Professor of Sociology at Utrecht University. She is board member of SCOOP, chair of the Department of Sociology, chair of the Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology and connected to the Future of Work Hub. She is a renowned sociologist with widely acknowledged expertise in social cohesion research with regard to family and work. She has achieved prominence in the field of sociology and beyond by showing that work and family life are intertwined, and that success depends on both. She has made groundbreaking contributions to the study of work-life balance and time use, but has also used her insights to advise industry and government and to develop practical tools and platforms promoting a sustainable workforce and employee wellbeing. Van der Lippe chairs the Sociaal Wetenschappelijke Raad, an advisory council of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) promoting (collaboration in) the social sciences. She was on the Management Board of ODISSEI, the national research infrastructure for social sciences (2020-2022). In 2022, Van der Lippe received the Simon Stevin Award, the most prominent Dutch award for researchers with international reputations who have achieved exceptional success in knowledge exchange and societal impact.
International visibility, activities, prizes, scholarships etc.
Van der Lippe enjoys an excellent international reputation, which has resulted in numerous visiting professorships, most recently at the Universities of California and Melbourne. She has been awarded major grants in highly competitive (inter)national schemes. These include an ERC AdG (2013) for her research into investing in a sustainable workforce in Europe, followed by an ERC PoC in 2018 to investigate whether the outcomes of the Sustainable Workforce could be shared internationally with business and other organizations. In addition, she has been PI and coordinator of European Science Foundation-funded projects comparing gender inequality (2008-2012) and the changing relationship between work and care in Europe (2006-2014). Van der Lippe is recognised for her state-of-the-art multi-method data collections on work-family issues, combining large-scale survey techniques with rigorous experimental study designs. Data collections initiated by her include the 2015 and 2018 ERC-survey of employees, management, and HR managers in 270 organizations across 9 European countries. She is an elected member of the European Academy of Sociology (2010), the Royal Dutch Society of Sciences (KHMW, 2013), and KNAW (2014). She was elected vice president of the executive committee of the Work and Family Researchers Network, the main network on work-family research worldwide (2019-2021).
5 key output/publications
1. Ramaekers, M.J., Verbakel, E., Kraaykamp, G. & Van der Lippe, T. 2023. More or less help? A longitudinal investigation of positive and negative consequences of divorce for informal helping. Community Work Fam, 1-16.
2. Van der Lippe, T. & Lippényi, Z. 2020. Co-workers working from home and individual and team performance. New Technol Work Employ, 35(1), 60-79.
3. Chung, H. & Van der Lippe, T. 2020. Flexible working, work–life balance, and gender equality: Introduction. Soc Indic Res, 151(2):365-381.
4. Van der Lippe, T., Van Breeschoten, L., & Van Hek, M. 2019. Organizational work–life policies and the gender wage gap in European workplaces. Work Occup, 46(2), 111-148.
5. Van der Lippe, T. & Van Dijk, L. 2002. Comparative research on women’s employment. Ann Rev Sociol 28: 221-241.
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