Nicole Richardt is an assistant professor in Political Science. She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She has an M.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and a Diploma in Public Administration from the University of Konstanz. Her current research focuses on the political economy of Western European countries, particularly European social and economic policy, comparative welfare state policy, gender, and historical institutionalism. She has published an article on embryological research in Social Politics and one on in-vitro fertilization in Biomedical Ethics. She has written on equal opportunity and the gender pay gap and is finishing an article on women in Germany for an edited volume. She is currently writing a book on how different kinds of European laws are used by domestic political actors to produce policy innovation and contribute to a transformation of European welfare states. She teaches courses on comparative politics and European politics.