About

Phyllis L. F. Rippey, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on the role of infant feeding in shaping and maintaining structures of inequality.

From 2007-2012, she served as assistant professor of Sociology at Acadia University, where she also coordinated the program in Women’s and Gender Studies from 2009-2012. Phyllis holds a BA in Humanistic Studies from McGill University, Montreal, Canada and an MA and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, where she was recently honored as the Robert and Clarissa Rees Memorial Distinguished Alumna.

Photo by Ben Welland.

Trained as a quantitative sociologist in the areas of social stratification and political sociology, she is recognized for her scholarship regarding the social and economic implications of breastfeeding. Her research has caught the interest of multiple news outlets, including Bloomberg, Le Droit, Chicago Tribune, Slate.com, GoodMorningAmerica.com, Fortune.com, Live Science, NBCNews.com, the Globe & Mail, and the Huffington Post. She was also featured on the BBC World Service program the “Food Chain” regarding the relationship between breastfeeding and work and was interviewed live on the NPR show The Takeaway regarding economic costs of breastfeeding for women. In 2014, she was an invited Panelist for a roundtable discussion on Parental Leave with U.S. Labour Secretary Thomas Perez and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman.

Phyllis teaches courses on social statistics; research methods; gender, work, and family; and the sociology of the United States. Working with graduate students is her favorite reason to go in to work and she has successfully mentored many MA and PhD students, most often in the areas of gender, family, or sexuality.  

When not teaching or researching,  she can be found podcasting with her sister Rosalie Rippey on the Rippey Sisters Podcast, blogging at Sociomama.com, or on Twitter @Sociomama. She also is developing a website for emerging researchers:  doingsocialresearch.com. She lives in Ottawa, ON, Canada, with her husband Joel and their collective five children.