Silke is a PhD candidate in the Economic and Social History department. Before joining her colleagues in Utrecht, she studied at the University of Amsterdam, where she earned a bachelor’s in Sociology and completed a research master’s in Social Sciences. Her academic interests center around (in)equality within Dutch society, the labour market, and the organization of inclusive healthcare.

In her PhD project, Silke investigates the historical development of occupational stereotypes in the Dutch medical sector, focusing on how and why they have changed over time and how they shape the distribution of physicians across specializations. The project also explores how occupational segregation influences the (self-)perceived status of specialties and how past processes of exclusion continue to shape today’s medical work culture.