The death of sociologist Margaret Maruani

Enthusiastic, feminist by conviction and sociologist by profession, Margaret Maruani powerfully stimulated research that was both free and committed, organizing and federating energies without worrying about academic uses. She died on August 4, in Valencia, Spain, where she resided, at the age of 68.

If Margaret Maruani, daughter of a Tunisian Jewish lawyer and a German Catholic teacher, was born in the capital of the French protectorate of Tunisia on February 25, 1954, it was in Paris, where the family settled in 1967, in Racine high school, then at the University of Paris-X-Nanterre where she continued her studies at the Carnot high school in Tunis.

Fluent in German, a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) in Paris, the young woman opted for sociology, a DEA (1976), then a doctoral thesis, Trade unions put to the test of feminism (Syros, 1979), directed by Jean-Daniel Reynaud (1926-2019). The latter, who taught the sociology of work at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM), recruited her there as an assistant (1978-1983).

Tireless

Researcher (1983) then director (1992) at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Margaret Maruani has none of the caution of those who aspire to mandarinship. Rigorous, demanding, committed, she chooses as a subject of study the apparently limited place of women in the labor market, establishing, patiently but implacably, that employment and work are not only men’s affairs.

Even his short summaries for the “Repères” collection of La Découverte, Sociology of employment (with Emmanuelle Reynaud, 1993) before Women’s work and employment (2000), are similar to pleas that could be considered subversive in the editorial context. On the ground it occupies with those it trains, Margaret Maruani is tirelessthe linchpin of all the many collectives that challenge commonly accepted visions in the social sciences and humanities.

In 1995, the very year in which the collective appeared The women’s place. The challenges of equality with regard to the social sciences (La Découverte), which she directs, Margaret Maruani founded the Labor Market and Gender (MAGE), the first CNRS research group devoted to gender issues. It thus defines the common thread which makes it possible to understand the status of both sexes in society, which has been illustrated since its creation in 1999 by the journal Work, gender and societies, that the sociologist directs until 2017.

A rich and varied network

What she began in 1989 with Chantal Nicole (At the work of the ladies. Men’s jobs, women’s jobs, Syros) leads her to a memorable synthesis, co-directed by Monique Meron, A century of women’s work in France. 1901-2011 (La Découverte, 2012) and, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of MAGE, the organization of a symposium at the Sorbonne, “I work therefore I am. Feminist Perspectives ». The relevance of his dialogue with the historian Michelle Perrot then echoes the debate launched in 2001 with Jacqueline Laufer and Catherine Marry, Masculine-feminine: questions for the human sciences (PUF).

Also read our archive: Article reserved for our subscribers Margaret Maruani, sociologist, research director at the CNRS

This colloquium, which later gave rise to a publication (La Découverte, 2018), was an opportunity to measure to what extent, despite her great discretion, the sociologist had been able for decades to weave a network as rich as it was varied. Angela Davis sat in the front row. Because, if the researcher was always obsessed with the necessary rigor of the figures which pinpointed differences and discriminations, she was able, notoriously in the journal she hosted, to preserve the broadest perspective, welcoming as generously feature articles, reports of books on sociology but also on history or anthropology, interviews with committed women, researchers, activists or trade unionists.

A radiant woman, Margaret Maruani was more than an immense researcher: a benevolent and generous woman, never compromising on listening or firmness. Qualities that made her a formidable animator of collective adventures of which she assured the direction, often shared with the rest. So she signed few solo works but she multiplied the projects that united energies without ever confiscating the merit on her name. All that counted was the elaboration of a look, the construction of a knowledge to be constantly refined. Logically, she took care to prepare her successor, passing on her scientific and academic responsibilities to the researchers likely to pursue each of her commitments. What is called “ go to school”.

Margaret Maruani in a few dates

February 25, 1954 Born in Tunis (French protectorate of Tunisia)

1992 Director of research at the CNRS

1999 Founds the journal “Work, Gender and Societies”

2013 “Work and gender in the world. The state of knowledge” (La Découverte)

2014 CNRS silver medal

August 4, 2022 Died in Valencia (Spain)

Philippe-Jean Catinchi