{"id":4824,"date":"2025-07-21T11:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T09:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cerge-ei.cz\/?p=4824"},"modified":"2025-07-21T12:07:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T10:07:22","slug":"meet-our-students-sofiana-sinanis-paper-won-the-best-poster-prize-at-the-royal-economic-society-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cerge-ei.cz\/?p=4824","title":{"rendered":"Meet Our Students: Sofiana Sinani\u2019s paper won the Best Poster Prize at the Royal Economic Society Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

What if parental leave policies shape more than just short-term labor outcomes? While much of the existing research focuses on how such policies impact parents’ careers, Sofiana Sinani, winner of the Best Poster Prize at the Royal Economic Society Conference 2025, took a different angle: How do extended periods of maternal care influence children\u2019s future aspirations \u2014 especially their choice of university studies and careers? Her project examines a 1995 policy change in the Czech Republic, where mothers were offered the option to extend their leave beyond the standard job-protection period. The results are following: boys exposed to longer maternal care were significantly less likely to apply to stereotypically \u201cfemale\u201d fields, such as education or healthcare. The research suggests that parental leave doesn\u2019t just affect today\u2019s workforce \u2014 it can shape the beliefs and ambitions of the next generation. In this interview, we explore the project that earned Sofiana Sinani the Best Poster Prize at the Royal Economic Society Conference 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. What inspired you to explore the relation between the maternal care and children\u2019s occupational choices?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In the parental leaves literature, part of the research aims to understand what the optimal conditions are for raising children (early in their human capital formation years) and how parental involvement influences the children\u2019s beliefs, attitudes, and long-term decisions like education and occupation choices. As I was reviewing the literature on parental leave policies, I noticed a surprising gap: while many studies examine labor market outcomes, none had asked how parental leave shapes children\u2019s career aspirations prior to entering university. That question drove me to this project.<\/p>\n

    I find that when the affected children applied to university, the boys in these cohorts were significantly less likely to choose fields that are stereotypically \u201cfemale.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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    1. What are the main findings you would highlight?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      These are the key takeaways from my project:<\/p>\n