December 03, 2025 | News | New Faces at MPIDR

Welcome Elena Pojman!

Elena Pojman is joining the Research Group Kinship Inequalities at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR). © MPIDR/Schulz

The Kinship Inequalities Research Group welcomes Elena Pojman as a new member. Prior to joining MPIDR, Elena was a dual-title Ph.D. candidate in sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on social stratification and how it affects how people spend their time and money. For her dissertation, she used mathematical demographic methods to study how race, ethnicity, educational attainment, and gender influence partnerships and caregiving. 

What question drives you most in your research?  
Much of my work is concerned with understanding how social stratification, such as by gender or race, shapes how people draw upon and use resources such as time, money, human capital, or family ties in addressing their work-family challenges. 

Why did you choose MPIDR as your new employer and what are you particularly looking forward to as you start working at the MPIDR?
I have wanted to work in Europe for a while, and was very excited to be able to continue my dissertation work on Kinship here. I'm looking forward to broadening my academic network here and having so much support for my research.
 
Where are you from? What do you miss most about home?
I'm originally from Austin, Texas, but I did my PhD in a small town in Central Pennsylvania that has similar weather to Rostock. I miss the sun, warm days, and hiking.

What do you like about Rostock?    
Not to sound too American, but I like how easy it is to get around.

What is your favorite and what is your least favorite part about work?    
I think it's such a privilege to be able to ask questions that are meaningful to me – that's easily my favorite part. However, I don't love the fact that it's often hard to access data to answer these questions.
 
What are you obsessed with at the moment besides demography?  
I've been doing a lot of reading for fun this year after my spouse got me an e-reader. I recently finished Elena Ferrante's series "My Brilliant Friend" and fell in love with the author.