Éléonore Lépinard
Professor of Gender Studies, University of Lausanne
I am a sociologist working on feminist movements and theory, intersectionality, and the relationship between gender and law. My research covers gender quota policies, the legal regulation of Islamic veiling in Europe, and the internal tensions within contemporary feminism around race, whiteness and religion.
After a PhD at the EHESS and a position as assistant professor of political science at the Université de Montréal, I joined the University of Lausanne in 2013. My work sits at the crossroads of sociology, political science, and socio-legal studies, in France, Switzerland, Canada, and beyond. Alongside my academic writing, I also write for broader audiences and engage in public-facing projects — from op-eds to a documentary podcast series — to bring this research beyond the university.
Research Axes
Intersectionality & feminist movements
How debates on intersectionality reshape the dynamics of social movements and women's organizations in France, Switzerland, and Canada.
Gender, religion & legal regulation
The regulation of Islamic veiling in France, Switzerland, and the UK, and the legal disciplining of veiled Muslim women in a context of rising femonationalism.
Gender quotas & representation
The genesis, legitimation, and diffusion of gender parity laws and quotas in France and Europe, in politics and in business.
News
Podcast launch: MLF Genève
Release of "MLF Genève: portrait intime d'une génération (1970–1979)," a 4-episode documentary podcast series — listen on Chahut Média.
Best Article Prize — Gender and Sexuality Research Network
Awarded for "Negotiating Submission: Pedagogies of Coloniality in the Everyday of Veiled Muslim Women," at the Council for European Studies conference — read the UNIL news item.
Closing conference of the LEGALVEIL project
"Gendered racialization. Navigating exclusion and disenfranchisement in Europe," UNIL, May 9, 2025 — closing the SNSF-funded project on the regulation of Islamic veiling.
Published: Féminisme
Essay published by Anamosa (109 p.) — see the book on the publisher's site.
In the Media
Radio feature, RTS — Histoire Vivante
Episode 9/10 of "Les femmes, du foyer aux révolutions féministes," discussing Féminisme — listen on RTS.
Interview on Monique Wittig, Collateral
"Un des moteurs de l'écriture de Wittig est de retourner la violence patriarcale en faisant des femmes un sujet dans la langue" — a conversation on Wittig's legacy, for a dossier on the writer's work — read on Collateral.
Interview on Féminisme, Collateral
A long-form conversation on the origins and arguments of Féminisme — read on Collateral.
Podcast: La Poudre, Episode 100 — "Penser les futurs féministes"
With Manon Garcia and Sandra Laugier, hosted by Lauren Bastide, recorded live at the Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco, June 18, 2021 — listen on Spotify.
Op-ed: "Pour un partage radical des activités de care"
Libération, May 10, 2020 — read on Libération.
Op-ed: "La mécanique du rire des complicités masculines"
Libération, March 2, 2020 — read on Libération.
Op-ed: "Pour en finir avec le cover-up en matière de délits sexuels"
Libération, January 29, 2020 — read on Libération.
Profile, Le Temps
"Éléonore Lépinard, sortir le féminisme de sa tour d'ivoire" — a portrait tracing an intellectual path from Bourdieu to feminist sociology. Read on Le Temps.
Op-ed: "Le FN, une part de nous-mêmes que nous occultons"
with Sarah Mazouz — Libération, May 9, 2017 — read on Libération.