LÉA PESSIN

Léa Pessin is a Programme Director in Social Inequality and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, European University Institute. She holds external affiliations with the Population Research Institute (Penn State University) and the Center for Research on Social Inequalities (Sciences Po). Previously, she served as Assistant/Associate Professor at CREST-ENSAE Paris (2023-2024) and Assistant Professor at Penn State’s Department of Sociology and Criminology (2019-2023).

Education:

• Ph.D. in Sociology and Demography, Pompeu Fabra University (2016)
• NICHD Postdoctoral Fellowship, Population Research Institute (Penn State)
• Visiting Pre-doctoral Scholar, Maryland Population Research Center (University of Maryland)

Research focuses on gender revolution impacts on work-family outcomes across class, race, and contexts using cross-national longitudinal data. Key themes include labor market insecurity, partnership dynamics, and structural racism’s role in health disparities. The ERC-funded WeEqualize project examines work-family strategy inequalities across 24 countries since the 1960s.

Grants:

• ERC Starting Grant (WeEqualize, 2023)
• NICHD Postdoctoral Fellowship
• NIH-funded R01 grant (end-stage kidney disease disparities)

Awards include the 2018 Work and Family Researchers Network Early Career Fellowship and 2019 Extraordinary Doctorate Award.