Hanna Ylöstalo

I am Associate Professor in Gender Studies and Head of Gender Studies. I have a PhD in Gender Studies (Tampere University, 2012) and Title of Docent in Gender Studies (Tampere University, 2016) and Political Sociology (University of Lapland, 2021).

My research interests lie in the fields of feminist political economy, political sociology and gender equality policy research. My research is broadly concerned with gendered economy-society relations. Current research themes include knowledge-policy relations, financialization of everyday life, feminist activism under contemporary capitalism, and utopias and political imagination.

I am a leader of research projects Populaarifeminismiä Pohjoismaassa: Kapitalismin uusi henki ja popularisoidut protestit [Popular feminism in a Nordic Welfare state: The new spirit of capitalism and popularization of protests], funded by Kone Foundation, and The Silent Backlash: The Political Economy of Anti-Gender Politics in Finland, funded by Research Council of Finland.  

Latest books: 

Salmenniemi Suvi, Porkola Pilvi & Ylöstalo Hanna (2026) Arkipäivän utopiat: Poliittinen mielikuvitus ja vaihtoehtoiset tulevaisuudet. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.

Ylöstalo Hanna, Kinnunen Heini, Lamberg Emma & Perheentupa Inna: Feminismiä talouteen: Opas kriittiseen talouslukutaitoon. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.

Elomäki, Anna & Ylöstalo, Hanna (2024) Governing Gender Equality Policy: Pathways in a Changing Nordic Welfare State. Palgrave Macmillan.

Recent publications:

Salmenniemi Suvi, Perheentupa Inna & Ylöstalo Hanna (eds.) (2025) Special Issue: Political Imagination and Social Change. Sociological Research Online.

Ylöstalo Hanna (2025) Good Vibes and Collective Action: Feminist Politics on Instagram. Feminist Media Studies. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2025.2495728

Ylöstalo, Hanna & Lamberg, Emma (2024) Commodified State Feminism: The Entanglements of Feminist Commodity Activism and State Feminism in a Nordic Welfare State. International Political Sociology 18:2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ips/olae005

Salmenniemi, Suvi, Porkola, Pilvi & Ylöstalo, Hanna (2024) Political Imagination and Utopian Pedagogy. Critical Arts. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02560046.2023.2299450

Awards and honours:

Hanna Ylöstalo, Heini Kinnunen, Emma Lamberg & Inna Perheentupa got State Award for Public Information [Tiedonjulkistamisen valtionpalkinto] 2025 . The group was commended for enriching the public debate on the economy through a multi-voiced approach supported by a peer-reviewed Finnish-language book Feminismiä talouteen and a podcast series Feminismiä talouteen!