About
I am a Ph.D. candidate at the Research Training Group The Dynamics of Demography, Democratic Processes and Public Policy (DYNAMICS), coordinated by the Department of Social Sciences at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Hertie School, and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
I am Colombian–Swiss and based in Germany. Currently living in Berlin, I focus my research on Europe and Latin America. I am particularly interested in projects at the intersection of academic research and policy implementation or evaluation, and I would be glad to contribute or share insights from my (upcoming) research on initiatives with a strong practical application. Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to connect or explore potential collaborations.
Outside of work, I’m passionate about photography: portraits, street life, and landscapes are my main focus. I often combine photography with hiking, chasing the kinds of views that make the effort worthwhile. I also love reading, and I share reflections on both photography and books here.
Connect
My research interests
My research sits at the intersection of social family demography, gender and (micro-)economics, social and family policy, and social inequality, with computational social science as a methodological toolkit. At its core is a simple question: how do family formation, care work, and labor market participation intertwine across the life course? Public policy plays a central role here, shaping the division of labor within households and couples’ decisions about care and employment throughout the life-course. Using a range of quantitative methods, I trace how this division of labor shapes partners’ demographic and economic trajectories — separation and divorce, career progression, fertility — and how policy can widen or narrow the resulting gender gaps in labor market security. I am also increasingly interested in how these household dynamics intersect with gender-based violence, and in the demographic conditions — economic dependency, relationship dissolution, care burdens — that shape individuals’ exposure to it. More broadly, I am interested in how large-scale disruptions such as war and displacement reshape family life, from separation and union dissolution to fertility responses.
My main PhD supervisor is Prof. Dr. Michaela Kreyenfeld (Hertie School, Berlin).
Education
- Master in Public Policy (Policy Analysis), Hertie School, Germany (2025) — Final grade: 1.6
- Exchange Semester — Master in Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden (2024)
- BSc. Economics, University of Mannheim, Germany (2023)
- BA Political Science and Sociology, University of Mannheim, Germany (2020)
- Exchange Semester — Economics & Political Science, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona (2019)
Latest News — Conferences & Academic Engagement
During the first year of my PhD, I presented my research at several conferences and academic workshops. I look forward to continuing these exchanges at upcoming events and conferences.
2026
-
European Population Conference (EPC) — Bologna
Conference page -
Workshop: A Unified Perspective on Formation and Dissolution Processes in Demography — Odense Workshop page
-
FACES PhD Workshop – Families and Challenges in Evolving Societies — Munich (upcoming) Call for Papers (PDF)
-
Young Demographers Conference — Prague
Conference page
2025
-
Workshop “Contemporary Challenges for Parents and Children” - Berlin Workshop page
-
FReDA User Conference — Best Presentation Award (with Laura Bozet)
Conference page and Award Announcement -
FREDA Autumn School — Participant
Quick Links
- Curriculum Vitae
- About the DYNAMICS Graduate Program
- DYNAMICS: Program site · My profile
- Hertie School: Website · My profile
- Humboldt-Universität: Website
© 2026 Sofía García Durrer · Powered by Jekyll & AcademicPages (Minimal Mistakes).
Last updated: 2026-02-15