Rachel Le Marois

Rachel Le Marois is a doctoral student in sociology at Sciences Po-CRIS, France, and a Ph.D. student in management at emlyon Business school-OCE, France. With a focus on invisible disabilities in the workplace, her research lies at the intersection of human resources, disability studies, and the critical sociology of inequality at work. Using qualitative methods, she is conducting research that explores governmental and organizational policies, organizational factors, and the behaviors of disability managers to understand their impact on the disclosure of disabilities at work. For this project, she is supervised by Mar Pérez and Lisa Buchter at emlyon and Anne Revillard at Sciences Po. Her estimated thesis defense date is June 2026.

Conference and seminar presentations

2025

• Facilitator for a Paper Development Workshop at the Academy Of Management: “The 1.3 Billion People Question: How Disability Extends what we Know about Social Symbolic Work?” with Robert Austin, Wesley Helms, Maija Renko, Jeff Preston, Oana Branzei, Anica Zeyen, Neva Bojovic, Walker Ray Dornisch, Gihyun (G.) Kim, Dusya Vera, Ren Lovegood, MHA, Subhasis Ray, Snigdha Malhotra, Brooks Szucs, Dr. Tavleen Kaur, Copenhagen, Denmark, (July 2025).
• with Buchter, L. (2025). "When the state managerializes the law: Enforcing the commodification of disability inclusion.” presentation at the Academy of Management (AOM), Copenhagen – division Critical Management Studies (CMS) (July 2025).
• "Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), Athena - Sub-theme 78: Creating Another World: Alternative Organizations as Engines of Social Transformation (July 2025).
• with  Buchter, L. "What opportunity structure for occupational activism?: Recruiting insider activists or lay employees to staff movement-backed occupations ” presentation at the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), Athena - Sub-theme Sub-theme 04: The Future of Activism (July 2025).
• Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at the Association française de sociologie (AFS), Toulouse – Réseau Thématique (RT) 19: Santé, médecine, maladie et handicap, session 1 bis intitulée « Handicap, profession et travail » (July 2025).
• with Buchter, L. "What opportunity structure for occupational activism?: Recruiting insider activists or lay employees to staff movement-backed occupations ” presentation at the Association française de sociologie (AFS), Toulouse – Réseau Thématique (RT) 3: Normes, déviances et réactions sociales (July 2025).

2024

• “Invisible Disabilities at Work: How Organizations, through Disability Managers, Influence Stigmatized Identity Concealment/Disclosure Work” presentation at the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), Milan - Sub-theme 71: The Impact of Organizational Practices on Workplace Diversity and Inequality (July 2024).

Presentation at workshop

2025

• “Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at the Workshop perspective Critic organized by emlyon, Lyon (March 2025)
• “Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at the Ethnographic Workshop organized by OCE emlyon research center and ESADE Business School, Barcelona (May 2025
• “Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at the Journées d’études PRESPOL: Le handicap, la santé et l’emploi vus des deux côtés du guichet organized by Sophie Dessein et Catherine Spieser Le CNAM, Paris (Jun 2025)
• “Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at a talk organized by CRIS Doctoral workshop (Sciences Po), Paris (April 2025)
• “Universal Design as alternative organizing of disability management at work: Moving beyond the individualization of disability” presentation at a talk organized by OCE research center emlyon, Lyon (March 2025)

2024

• “Invisible Disabilities at Work: How Organizations, through Disability Managers, Influence Stigmatized Identity Concealment/Disclosure Work” presentation at Chamonix emlyon PhD workshop with Yuliya Shymko, Farida Souiah, Daniel Arenas, Pablo Fernandez, Thomas Roulet, Farah Kodeih, Bernard Forgues, Tao Han, Chamonix, (March 2024).
• “Invisible Disabilities at Work: How Organizations, through Disability Managers, Influence Stigmatized Identity Concealment/Disclosure Work” presentation at the Ethnographic Workshop organized by OCE emlyon research center and ESADE Business School, Barcelona (May 2024)
• “Invisible Disabilities at Work: How Organizations, through Disability Managers, Influence Stigmatized Identity Concealment/Disclosure Work” presentation at a talk organized by OCE research center emlyon, Lyon (May 2024)

My project aims to make a meaningful contribution to the fields of Management and Sociology of inequalities. 
My dissertation concerns the inclusion of people with invisible disabilities within the French workplace.
Invisible disability refers to a concealed and unmarked impairment that typically goes unnoticed. These hidden disabilities encompass a range of impairments or illnesses (such as chronic pain, learning disorders, cancer, AIDS, Crohn's disease, chronic migraines, psychological disorders...) that can present unique challenges in the workplace.
I approach my study from the perspective of disability studies. 
My investigation will revolve around how French organizations engage with invisible disabilities. I will also explore the factors influencing the decisions of disabled employees regarding the disclosure of their invisible disabilities at their workplaces.

Invisible disability at work in French organizations today

Thesis Directors: Anne Revillard (Sciences Po - CRIS, LIEPP), Mar Perezts (emlyon business school - OCE), Lisa Buchter (emlyon business school - OCE) 

Funding: emlyon business school

• Rachel Le Marois. DISABILITY AND (IN)VISIBILITY WORK. Oana Branzei; Anica Zeyen. The Routledge Companion to Disability and Work, Routledge, pp.155-165, 2024, 9781003350781. ⟨10.4324/9781003350781-16⟩. ⟨hal-04916950⟩