Functions at the IAB
Professional background
Mara Wippermann completed her bachelor’s degree at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg in 2022, majoring in sociology with a minor in cognitive sciences. In 2025, she completed her master’s degree in sociology at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).
She has been working in the research unit “Joblessness and Social Inclusion” (ET) at the IAB since 2023. Among other things, she contributed to a project on the early activation of parents with young children under SGB II. Since October 2026, she has been a scholarship holder in the Graduate Programme at the IAB (GradAB) and is pursuing a PhD in sociology at FAU. Her qualitative dissertation examines participation, respect and interactions with Jobcenters among recipients of basic income support under SGB II.
Her research focuses on labour market and social policy, in particular social norms, inequalities, gender, processes of marginalization and power relations. She is trained in both qualitative and quantitative methods and currently works primarily qualitatively.