[1] Pilcher has a PhD (1992) from Cardiff University; her thesis title was "Social change and feminism: three generations of women, feminist issues and the women's movement".
[2] After research at Cardiff, Pilcher worked at the University of Leicester as a lecturer and later an associate professor.
In 2019 she moved to Nottingham Trent University as associate professor of sociology.
[1] Her 2004 book Fifty key concepts in gender studies, co-authored with Imelda Whelehan (Sage: ISBN 9781412932073)[3][4] was published in a second edition as Key concepts in gender studies (2016, Sage: ISBN 9781446260289) with the addition of nine further concepts.
[5] Her work has led to several appearances in the media including discussion of children and fashion on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour in 2011[6] and of names on Thinking Allowed in 2016[7] and Woman's Hour in 2017.