Area of Study / Keywords

work and occupations labour markets stratification inequality quantitative methods

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About

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.

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Research

Selected Publications:

Denier, Nicole, and Claudia Masferrer. "Returning to a new Mexican labor market? Regional variation in the economic incorporation of return migrants from the US to Mexico." Population Research and Policy Review (2019): 1-25.

Masferrer, Claudia, Erin R. Hamilton, and Nicole Denier. "Immigrants in their parental homeland: half a Million US-born Minors Settle throughout Mexico." Demography 56.4 (2019): 1453-1461.

Denier, Nicole, and Sean Waite. “Sexual Orientation at Work: Documenting and Understanding Wage Inequality.” Sociology Compass e12667 (2019): 1-17.

Denier, Nicole, and Sean Waite. “Sexual Orientation Wage Gaps across Local Labour Market Contexts: Evidence from Canada.” Relations industrielles/Industrial Relations 72.4 (2017): 734-762.

Denier, Nicole. “Leaving Work, Leaving Home: Job Loss and Socio-Geographic Mobility in Canada.” Canadian Public Policy 43.1 (2017): 17-35.

Denier, Nicole, Sean A.P. Clouston, Marcus Richards, and Scott Hofer. “Retirement and Cognition: A life course view.” Advances in Life Course Research 31 (2017): 11-21.

Denier, Nicole, and Sean Waite. “Data and discrimination: A research note on sexual orientation in the Canadian labour market.” Canadian Studies in Population 43.3-4 (2016): 264-271.

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Teaching

I regularly teach courses on the sociology of work, immigration, and social statistics.

SOC 366 - People in Industry

Introduction to the sociological analysis of the attitudes and behaviour of employees in work organizations, with emphasis on contemporary Canada. Note: Restricted to Engineering students only. Not open to students with credit in SOC 363.

Fall Term 2022 Winter Term 2023

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SOC 402 - Topics in Sociology

Prerequisite: SOC 100 or consent of the instructor. Note: Consult the Department for any additional prerequisites. Course may be taken more than once if topic(s) vary.

Fall Term 2022

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SOC 403 - Individual Study

Individual study opportunity on topics for which no specific course is currently offered by the Department. Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor and the Undergraduate Advisor.

Winter Term 2023

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SOC 565 - Seminar in Work

Winter Term 2023

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