RUSPINI ELISABETTA

Elisabetta Ruspini is full Professor of Sociology at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy. She holds a PhD in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento.

Since the start of her academic life she has devoted a considerable amount of time to studying the relationship between gender and social change; the social construction of gender identities as a dynamic process; the causes of gender inequality; the interplay between gender, family formation and parenting roles; the relationship between gender and the generational turnover (particularly Millennials and Gen Zers); generational discontinuities; how to engender social research; the future of gender research. 

She has relevant expertise in Gender Studies (both Women’s Studies and Men and Masculinity Studies), Gender Relations in Society, Sociology of Families, Generational Studies (Millennials and Gen Zers) and LGBT Studies, as wells as in gender-sensitive research and on how to strengthen the gender dimension of both social research and research programs in order to remove gender imbalances. She has functioned as a gender expert and adviser for diverse research stakeholders in Italy and Europe (European Community), and has been actively involved in developing gender-sensitive approaches in Universities and Associations.

She has extensive teaching and research experience on Feminist, Women’s and Gender Studies, Family and Generational issues. She has published a relevant number of books (authored books and edited books/journal issues), articles and contributed papers to several national and international conferences/seminars/workshops in these fields.

Since 2023: Member of the Doctorate college, National Doctoral Program in Gender Studies (DIN Program in Gender Studies): https://www.uniba.it/it/ricerca/dipartimenti/dirium/postlaurea/dottorati/dottorato-in-gender-studies

Since 2023: Editor (with Jennie Bristow, Canterbury Christ Church University), book series
“Generations, Transitions and Social Change”, BUP-Bristol University Press:
https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/generations-transitions-and-social-change

September 2021-August 2024: Coordinator of RN33 “Women’s and Gender Studies”, ESA-European Sociological Association: https://www.europeansociology.org/research-networks/rn33-womens-and-gender-studies

September 2019-August 2021: Co-Coordinator of RN33 “Women’s and Gender Studies”, ESA-European Sociological Association.

She is the National Coordinator of the Scientific Framework Convention ‘Gender and Religion’, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano-Bicocca. The Framework Convention is a confederation of around 30 Universities across Italy and 15 Research Centres/Associations located all over the country which banded together to study the nexus between gender, religion and social change. 

October 2018-May 2024: Director of the “Centro Interdipartimentale per gli Studi di Genere-ABCD-Interdepartmental Center for Gender Studies” (14 Departments), University of Milano-Bicocca: http://www.abcd.unimib.it/

She is one of the Founders of the AIS Research Committee ‘Studi di Genere’ (Gender Studies), that she has been coordinating between 2012-2018. The Research Commitee ‘Studi di Genere’ is part of the AIS (Associazione Italiana di Sociologia-Italian Sociological Association): https://www.ais-sociologia.it/sezioni/sg/studi-genere/

Research Interests: Social Change and Social Processes; Gender as a Social Structure; Gender Inequalities; VaW-GBV Prevention; Gender and Sustainability; Gender and Generations; Feminism and Women's Rights Movements; Generations of Feminism; Generations and Social Change; Values and Beliefs across Generations; Gender and Religions; Gender, Generations and Tourism; Design of Research Studies; Longitudinal Research; Gender-sensitive Research; Generations Research.