Nicole Denier
Assistant Professor | Sociology WELM-Arts

My work considers the structure and operation of the labor market both as an engine and as a site of social transformation. I am particularly interested in the interplay between social and economic inequality. These interests have inspired a number of projects, including:

1. A SSHRC-funded study on the nature of labor market instability and industrial transformation across Canada. Using longitudinal data, I’m looking at how workers’ lives and careers evolve in the wake of job separations part of both routine and catastrophic industrial change.
2. A comprehensive project on sexual orientation inequality in the Canadian labour market using qualitative interviews, experimental data, and novel administrative data.
3. Project BIAS: Responsible AI for Labour Market Equality, an interdisciplinary, cross-national SSHRC-UKRI funded study on bias in algorithmic labour market processes.
4. Research on immigration dynamics and immigrant integration, with a recent focus on the US-Mexico migration stream.

In 2018, joined the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta as Assistant Professor of Sociology, specializing in Work, Economy, and Society. Prior to Alberta, I was appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Colby College after receiving my PhD at McGill University.

Recent Publications

• Sexual Orientation and Self-Employment: New Evidence