Anna Kurowska, Ph.D., Associate Professor – She earned her habilitation in political science in 2018. She is an associate professor at the University of Warsaw. Head of the Department of Research Methods in Politics and Public Policy at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, and vice-chair of LabFam — the Interdisciplinary Center for Research on the Labor Market and Family Dynamics at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw. Member of the Scientific Council for the discipline of “Political Science and Public Administration.” From 2015 to 2024, she served as a member of the University of Warsaw’s Anti-Harassment Commission.
She is a member of the International Network on Leave Policies & Research, the Work and Family Researchers Network, and ESPAnet Europe. From 2020 to 2025, she served on the ESPAnet board. She also serves as an international editorial advisor for the journal *Social Policy & Society* and sits on the editorial boards of the journals *Scientific Data ” (Springer Nature) and “Studia Demograficzne.” She has long served as an expert for both the European Commission and the National Science Center (NCN).
She has repeatedly received grants through research competitions organized by the National Science Center and the Foundation for Polish Science. She currently leads two research projects funded by the National Science Center: “
”— Fathers’ freedom to choose whether or not to take parental leave (OPUS 18)—and “
”— Short- and Long-Term Effects of Policy Measures Taken in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Division of Paid and Unpaid Work Between Partners and Their Situation in the Labor Market (OPUS 19)
From 2023 to 2025, she was a member of the Polish team implementing the rEUsilience project under the “Horizon Europe” program. Previously, she led the following research projects, among others:
– Work-Family Balance Policies at the National and Corporate Levels and the Employment of Mothers: An Analysis from the Perspective of a Capabilities-Based Approach (NCN/DFG, 2011–2022)
– Reconciling work and family life in Poland from the perspective of a capabilities-based approach (NCN)
– The Combined Impact of Family Policy and Labor Market Policy on Labor Force Participation and Fertility Decisions Among Men and Women (Foundation for Polish Science)
From 2013 to 2018, she coordinated quantitative research within Polish teams participating in projects funded by the European Commission (LIVEWHAT – 7th Framework Program and TRANSSOL – Horizon 2020).
She regularly speaks at leading international conferences, such as the annual ESPAnet conference, the annual ECSR conference, the annual meeting of the American Demographic Association, and the “Society, Work, and Family,” where she also serves as chair of a thematic session. In 2023, she organized the 21st the annual ESPAnet conference at the University of Warsaw, for which she was named an Ambassador of Polish Congresses.
Her publications appear in leading journals indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, including the *Journal of European Social Policy*, *Social Indicators Research*, *Social Policy & Administration*, “European Societies,” “American Behavioral Scientist,” “Acta Politica,” “Politics & Policy,” and “European Journal of Population.” She is also a reviewer for many prestigious journals, including the “Journal of Social Policy,” “Social Forces,” the *Journal of Family Studies*, *Demographic Research*, and *Community, Work and Family*.
Research Interests
Social policy; comparative family policy; care systems; the impact of social policy reforms on women’s employment, fertility, the division of unpaid work within families, and work-life balance; cultural determinants of these phenomena; remote work; a capabilities-based approach; and social indicators.