About the Institute | Faculty of Social Sciences

birds eye view of fss indoor of building — Faculty of Social Sciences

Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies

About the Institute

The Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies is associated with the Faculty of Social Sciences and its mandate is to promote the development of feminist education and research in both a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary setting.

Definition and mandate

The Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies accomplishes this through its undergraduate and graduate programs, by providing the infrastructure required for interuniversity and community exchanges, and by generating and disseminating knowledge (symposiums, conferences, seminars and workshops) on feminism, gender relations and women in all their diversity.

Meet your Director, Phyllis Rippey

I received my BA in Humanistic Studies from McGill University followed by an MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of Iowa.

I began my teaching career

I began teaching as a graduate student at a community college and then at the University of Iowa, followed by a year of doing full-time part-time instruction at Wilfrid Laurier University, The University of Guelph, and The University of Waterloo. My first tenure track position was at Acadia University from 2007-2012 after which I came to the University of Ottawa.

I am researching or interested in researching…

My training was in the areas of political sociology and social stratification—which is a fancy way of saying the quantitative study of social inequality. Most of my work has focused on questions of gender and racial inequality using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The majority of my research has explored the ways in which breastfeeding is tied to structures of inequality. At the moment, I’m working on a number of projects including: breastfeeding promotion in Indonesia as a neocolonial project; a deep dive into the most recent health evidence claims for breastfeeding; a network analysis of organizations and funders of global breastfeeding initiatives; as well as a project examining the relationship between infertility and women’s work experiences.

Are you affiliated with any other academic units?

My home unit is the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and I also have an affiliation with Population Health.

The best part about my job

I love problem solving and helping find solutions to the needs of students, professors, and the institution. I like being helpful and I love it even more when people actually want my help!