I am a Postdoctoral Researcher (Research Associate) in the Department of Government & Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde, which I joined in May 2024. Here, I work on the Politicians, Policies, and Reproduction of Wealth project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
My research agenda examines the role of gender in political life, from the incentives of political party elites to include women on their candidate lists to the effects of gendered institutions â gender quota laws â on womenâs political engagement and access to power. My work combines strong quantitative methods skills, including formal modelling, Bayesian methods, and advanced statistical analysis, with an application to gender and politics from a comparative perspective, focusing particularly on Western Europe.
Before moving to Glasgow, I completed my Ph.D. in Political Science at Florida State University, and a BSc and MSc in Economics at Bocconi University.
"Gender Quota Laws and Women in Cabinets" (with Ana Catalano Weeks and Tiffany Barnes). Invited to Revise and Resubmit at the Journal of Politics. SSRN Preprint
Do Gender Quotas Increase Political Knowledge? European Journal of Political Research, 2024
"Stai Fuori or Benvenuto?: Immigration and The Italian Far Right" (with C. Reenock). Working Paper.
"Do their Interests Matter? Finance Ministers and Tax Reform in Democracies" (with D. Alexiadou, M. Pellicer, E. Wegner). Working Paper.
"Affluent Legislators Representing Ordinary Citizens: Evidence from South Africa" (with D. Alexiadou, L. Barbabela, M. Pellicer, E. Wegner). Working Paper.
"Divergent Paths: the Gender Gap in the Post-politics Revolving Door" (with D. Alexiadou). In Progress.
"Are women finance ministers different from their male colleagues when they make tax policy? A cross-country comparison of European parliamentary democracies." (with D. Alexiadou). In Progress.
Gender Quota Laws Increase the Share of Women in Cabinets (with Ana Catalano Weeks and Tiffany Barnes). Gender on the Ballot, American Universityâs Women & Politics Institute, 2024
"Misurare la coesione sociale in Italia. Rapporto 2021" (with P. Graziano). Social Cohesion Paper n. 3, 2022 (Measuring Social Cohesion in Italy. 2021 Report)
"Misurare la coesione sociale in Italia" (with P. Graziano). Social Cohesion Paper n. 2, 2018 (Measuring Social Cohesion in Italy)
"Misurare la coesione sociale: una comparazione tra le regioni italiane" (with P. Graziano). Rivista Impresa Sociale, 12(8), 28â36, 2016 (Measuring Social Cohesion: a Comparison between Italian Regions)
"Le âcinque Italieâ della coesione sociale" (with P. Graziano). Altroconsumo (Numero 185), p. 49, 2016 (The âfive Italiesâ of Social Cohesion)
How do political parties decide whether to prioritize experience or diversity when selecting candidates? My book project develops and tests a formal model of strategic candidate selection, arguing that institutional incentivesâsuch as electoral systems and gender quotasâsystematically shape how parties balance these competing goals. Existing research typically treats candidate quality as one-dimensional, focusing on experience while overlooking the growing electoral importance of diversity.
To address this gap, I have compiled a novel and comprehensive dataset of Italian national legislative candidates (1994â2022), which includes information on gender, incumbency, list position, and candidatesâ political and professional backgrounds. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines descriptive and statistical analyses, experiments, and elite interviews, I rigorously test the modelâs predictions about how institutional contexts influence list construction. Integrating evidence across methods, the book explains when and why parties privilege experience or diversity in democratic representation.
At Florida State University
At Florida State University
At the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
You can find my CV
here.
You can reach me at giulia[DOT]venturini[AT]strath[DOT]ac[DOT]uk
