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Crisis, hope and turning points – international researchers gathered in Lund

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By emma [dot] lord [at] soc [dot] lu [dot] se (Emma Lord) - published 4 September 2025
Sylvia Walby gives a presentation at the conference. Photo: Rebecca Selberg.
Keynote speaker Sylvia Walby shed light on the democratic challenges unfolding across Europe and the U.S., setting the tone for a dynamic and engaging conference.

When researchers from three continents gathered at Lund University's Department of Sociology for the conference Crisis, Hope, and Critical Turning Points, the spotlight was on society’s capacity to navigate and recover from crises. Despite the gravity of the topics, the atmosphere was animated—filled with conversation, laughter, and spontaneous exchanges. With renowned scholar Sylvia Walby as keynote speaker, the event fostered fresh insights, shared interests, and laid the groundwork for future collaborations.

Last Thursday and Friday, the Department of Sociology’s typically spacious lunchroom was unusually bustling, as conference participants from Europe, Asia, and Latin America gathered around the coffee machine and the baguettes, stacked high on the central kitchen island.

The conference brought together around 40 researchers specializing in gender, welfare, and working life. Across these fields, they are now identifying emerging signs of societal crisis—ranging from declining fertility rates to shortages in healthcare and eldercare, as well as growing insecurity in the labour market.

The keynote speaker was Sylvia Walby from Royal Holloway, University of London, one of the world’s most recognized gender researchers. Professor Walby has studied violence, economics, globalization, and crisis for many years, and has made groundbreaking contributions on topics such as domestic violence and trafficking. Her lecture addressed, among other things, the challenges to democracy currently visible in Europe and the USA.

Conferences like this are important to ensure that teaching maintains high quality and is truly research-based.

During the conference, researchers presented their projects and findings, and responded to questions and comments from the audience. Presentations included topics such as: how Sweden’s RUT tax deduction might influence gender equality in dual-income households; the emergence of new municipal care programmes in Mexico City; the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pilots in the commercial aviation industry; and how Irish companies handle legal requirements to report gender pay gaps.

– The conference was very successful, said Rebecca Selberg, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, who organized the event within the research network RN14.

– Researchers from different countries connected over shared interests that hopefully could lead to new collaborations on socially important issues. Despite the weighty themes, the atmosphere was cheerful and buzzing with conversation.

What, who, how and where?

  • WHAT? Crisis, Hope, and Critical Turning Points was held as an interim conference—organized in the years between the European Sociological Association’s (ESA) major congresses.
  • WHO ATTENDED? Participants came from across Europe, including Portugal, Hungary, the UK, Denmark, and Poland, as well as from Mexico and Japan.
  • HOW OFTEN? Every other year, all researchers gather for the major congress, and in the alternating years, the networks meet, where researchers focus on specific topics. This conference was aimed at researchers within ESA’s Research Network 14 (RN14), a feminist research network within the European Sociological Association.
  • WHERE? The Department of Sociology in Lund hosted the event by providing facilities and some administrative support.

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A recurring theme throughout the conference was the growing pushback against gender equality in many countries—despite clear evidence that equality initiatives often lead to positive outcomes for both individuals – women and men – and society at large. The programme also featured a guided tour of Skissernas Museum – The Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art – which was warmly received by participants.

– They were impressed by Lund University’s investment in the museum, by our talented guide Greta who studies architecture at Lund University, and by the questions the tour raised around gender, democracy, and citizen participation, said Rebecca Selberg.

– All participants were reminded that there are aspects of research that resemble artistic work – and vice versa.

How will the conference contribute to research or teaching at the Department of Sociology?

– Bringing together researchers from across Europe gives us, as teachers at the Department of Sociology, valuable insight into where the research frontier is moving, said Rebecca Selberg, Senior Lecturer at the department.

– What are our colleagues around the world working on? What theories are being used to explain societal processes that affect people in different ways? What research findings tell us how society is evolving right now? Conferences like this are important to ensure that teaching maintains high quality and is truly research-based.

– We also had the chance to showcase our newly renovated department building and share more about our work, said Rebecca Selberg. 

– Many participants were impressed by the breadth of our activities, our success in securing research funding—which reflects the quality, innovation, and social relevance of our research—and the strong interest from students who choose to study here each year.

Last updated: 5 Sep 2025