For Sociology: Camille Portier

Why do so many mothers never fully return to work after having a child? In this episode of For Sociology, host Kevin Caners talks with Camille Portier about the quiet forces shaping women's careers after childbirth — and why, in the US, something as simple as control over your own workday can matter as much as paid leave itself. Camille's research focuses on the US — the only wealthy country without guaranteed paid parental leave — where she traces how workplace autonomy can substitute for the benefits mothers don't have. The conversation also covers her academic path from social anthropology to quantitative sociology, her PhD years at Cornell during a politically turbulent moment in America, and the growing threats to social science research funding and data access. Guest: Camille Portier Research Fellow in Sociology, European University Institute Former Kohli Foundation Fellow, Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies Chapter Markers: 00:00 - Podcast Welcome 00:45 - Meet Camille Portier 01:59 - Finding Her Way to Sociology 02:54 - Anthropology vs. Sociology 04:36 - From Master's to PhD 06:28 - Studying Motherhood and Careers 07:00 - Autonomy as a Hidden Resource 07:54 - The Cost of Investing in Children 09:12 - Why Study Motherhood 10:01 - How Workplace Context Shapes Inequality 13:39 - Building the Data: O*NET and Its Limits 16:01 - Culture Shock: Moving to the US 17:43 - Rapid-Fire Questions 23:31 - Sociology Under Political Pressure 27:57 - Where Sociology Can Make a Difference 30:20 - What's Next for Camille 31:27 - Closing Thanks and Outro Rapid-Fire with Camille: Book/article she wishes she'd written: A study by Luft and Fries on socioeconomic status and diabetes treatment If not a sociologist: A cheese seller (or a journalist) Does her best thinking: Sitting on the floor or lying in bed, in the morning Sociological concept everyone should know: The life course Biggest misconception about sociology: That it's just common sense, not a rigorous science Kohli Foundation for Sociology: https://kohlifoundation.eu/