A central principle of my work is that social inequalities become especially relevant for shaping individual outcomes when they are perceived as such. I am therefore particularly interested in the subjective dimension of social inequality, rather than its objective extent. Why do some people perceive certain situations as discriminatory or unfair, while others do not? Why is there limited public demand for equality policies, even though labor markets remain deeply unequal—and most people express a general distaste for inequality? By focusing on how people perceive social inequalities, I aim at addressing these questions. 

Understandings of fairness and justice differ widely. While justice is multifaceted, my research often focuses on distributive justice: when do people perceive an outcome or a distribution as fair or unfair? Which principles guide these perceptions? How are they shaped by social contexts? And how do they influence individual behavior? My work has explored these questions, for instance, by investigating perceptions of the fairness of one's own and others' wages, the influence of firm and occupational contexts, and the expected behavioral responses to perceived under-reward. 

“Equal pay for equal work” remains unfulfilled in many labor markets, with gender pay gaps persisting across countries. Do men and women perceive these differences as justified or unjust? I explore this process of legitimation. Using data from 27 European countries, I found that women generally do not perceive their lower wages as fair—especially when they work in female-dominated occupations or in sectors with larger gender pay gaps. I also study how firm contexts shape perceptions of fairness and the behavioral responses these perceptions may trigger. Additionally, I conducted a survey experiment to test whether beliefs about gender-based pay inequality translate into support for equality policies. 

When do people perceive workplace situations as discriminatory, and what are the consequences of these perceptions? I study labor market discrimination along the lines of gender and ethnic background, with a focus on the mechanisms that lead to perceptions of it. For example, in a factorial survey experiment among German workers, participants rated the likelihood that certain co-worker profiles would be promoted. The results revealed perceived promotion penalties for women, mothers, and part-time workers. In another project, I also examine how situational factors and actor constellations shape perceptions of discrimination in the labor market. 

Much of my research seeks to understand the mechanisms that sustain social inequalities. Experimental approaches are invaluable in this pursuit and I have specifically focused on the design, implementation, and analysis of survey experiments. For instance, I used a factorial survey experiment to identify factors influencing perceptions of wage fairness. In another study, I employed an information provision experiment to assess whether informing respondents about the size and nature of gender pay gaps increases support for gender equality policies. 

My research draws on a broad set of quantitative methods that allow for both the examination of relationships between concepts and the identification of causal effects. I frequently combine multiple data sources—such as standard surveys, survey experiments, contextual data, and administrative data. For example, I linked a factorial survey experiment with administrative firm-level data to explore contextual heterogeneities in perceptions of wage fairness. In another project, I used administrative earnings data to assess whether respondents accurately evaluated their own wages as fair or unfair.