As a sociologist and ethnologist, Dr. Eva-Maria Schmidt has been a senior researcher at the Austrian Institute for Family Studies (OIF) since 2017. Dr Schmidt researches and publishes on the topics of unpaid and paid work, parental leave organisation, gender roles, parenthood and social norms, intergenerational relationships in families as well as non-marital cohabitation, with a focus on qualitative-reconstructive survey and analysis methods. In her dissertation, based on internationally peer-reviewed and published journal articles, she examined parenting practices and constructions.

Eva-Maria Schmidt is a member of the International Network on Leave Policies & Research, of the Management Commitee in the COST Action "Parental Leave Policies & Social Sustainability" and spokesperson for the Family Research Section of the Austrian Sociological Association. Moreover, she is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Family Research.

Research Projects

• "Good Divorce": An analysis of multiple perspectives on the Austrian divorce law (2023-2024), Funding: Federal Ministry of Justice
• Employers' Perspectives on Fathers in Work Organizations. A Factorial Survey (2023), Funding: Federal Chancellery/Women, Family, Integration and Media
• DigiGen - The digital generation: The impact of technological transformations on children and youth (2020-2022), Funding: EU Horizon 2020
• NorM - Norms around Motherhood (2020-2023), at the Department for Sociology, University of Vienna

Selected Publications

Schmidt, E.-M., Décieux, F.,  & Zartler, U. (2024). Mothers and Others: How Collective Strategies Reproduce Social Norms Around Motherhood. Journal of Family Issues. Online First.

Schmidt, E.-M., Riederer, B. (2024). Family lives and intimate relationships in Austria - A plea for inclusive and interdisciplinary family research. Austrian Journal of Sociology 49(3), 291-298.

Schmidt, E.-M. (2024). Fathers not desired? How parental leave policies obstruct changes in parental gender ideologies. In: Angela Wroblewski und Angelika Schmidt (Hg.): Gleichstellung in progress – Von Frauenförderung zu Diversität und Inklusion: Springer, 133-149.

Décieux, F., Schmidt, E.-M., & Zartler, U. (2024). Self-care as an end in itself? Meaning and forms of self-care in discourses on good motherhood. Austrian Journal of Sociology 49(3), 397-416.

Vogl, S., Schmidt, E.-M., & Zartler, U. (2024). Triangulating Partners’ Views Over Time: Analyzing Multiple Perspective Qualitative Longitudinal Interviews on Non-Normative Work-Care Arrangements in the Transition to Parenthood in Practice. In Á. Humble & E. M. Radina (Eds.), How Qualitative Data Analysis Happens: Moving Beyond “Themes Emerged” (Expanded Edition) (2nd edition). Routledge, 160-178.

Schmidt, E.-M. (2024). Digital technologies in children's everyday lives and in 'doing family'. Families, Relationships and Societies 13(2), 215-232.

Roth, M., Schmidt, E.‑M., Lafton, T., Kapella, O., & Barbuta, A. (2024). A Developmental View on Digital Vulnerability and Agency of Children Under 10 Years of Age. In H. B. Holmarsdottir, I. Seland, C. Hyggen, & M. Roth (Eds.), Understanding The Everyday Digital Lives of Children and Young People (pp. 169–207). Palgrave Macmillan.

Schmidt, E.-M. (2024). Needing a child to be fulfilled? The relevance of social norms around childbearing desires in collective orientations and individual meanings. Journal of Family Research, 36, 5–24.

Schmidt, E.-M., & Neuwirth, N. (2023). Do children suffer if their mothers work? In: Neuwirth, N.; Buber-Ennser, I.; Fux, B. (Ed.): Families in Austria. Partnerships, fertility intentions and economic­ situation in challenging times (p. 49). Vienna: Austrian Institute for Family Studies.

Schmidt, E.-M., & Neuwirth, N. (2023). Are children important for a fulfilled life? In: Neuwirth, N.; Buber-Ennser, I.; Fux, B. (Ed.): Families in Austria. Partnerships, fertility intentions and economic­ situation in challenging times (p. 28). Vienna: Austrian Institute for Family Studies.

Vogl, S., Schmidt, E.-M., Kapella, O. (2023): Focus Groups With Children: Practicalities and Methodological Insights. Forum Qualitative Social Research, 24(2), Art. 21. DOI: 10.17169/FQS-24.2.3971

Schmidt, E-M. & Schmidt, A. E. (2023). Country Note Austria. In: Blum, S., Koslowski, A., Dobrotić, I., Kaufman, G. and Moss, P. (2023) 19th International Review of Leave Policies and Related Research 2023. DOI: 10.25365/phaidra.431, 106-115.

Kapella, O., Schmidt, E-M., Vogl, S. (2022) Integration of digital technologies in families with children aged 5-10 years: A synthesis report of four European country case studies. DigiGen-working paper series. (8). DOI: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6411126.

Schmidt, E-M. (2021) Flexible working for all? How collective constructions by Austrian employers and employees perpetuate gendered inequalities. In: Journal of Family Research 34(2), 615-642. DOI: doi.org/10.20377/jfr-668.

Twamley, K.; Doucet, A., Schmidt, E-M. (2021) Relationality in family and intimate practices: Introduction to special issue. In: Families, Relationships and Societies 10(1), 3-10. DOI: 10.1332/204674321X16111601166128.

Zartler, U., Schmidt, E-M., Schadler, C., Rieder, I. & Richter, R. (2020) “A Blessing and a Curse”: Couples Dealing with Ambivalence Concerning Grandparental Involvement During the Transition to Parenthood—A Longitudinal Study. In: Journal of Family Issues. Online first. DOI: 10.1177/0192513X20950786.