Francesca Feo
Postdoctoral Fellow, Political Science
Francesca Feo joined the SUCCESS team as Postdoctoral fellow in March 2023. Her main research interests are the politics of gender and LGBTIQ policy-making, and the gendered organizational cultures of parliamentary institutions and political parties with a focus on populism and the radical right.
Francesca obtained her PhD in Political Science and Sociology at Scuola Normale Superiore, in Florence, in February 2023. Her thesis explored the varieties of institutional resistance to the adoption and implementation of gender and LGBTIQ policies in Italy between 1995 and 2021, focusing on the mechanisms, framing strategies and actors involved in undermining inclusionary policy efforts. She holds a MA from the University of Bologna and a BA from the University of Pisa.
Francesca’s work appears, among others, in Politics & Gender, the European Journal of Politics and Gender, and the International Political Science Review. She is co‐convenor of the standing group on gender and politics of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP).
In the SUCCESS project Francesca aims to explore the consequences of political endurance on policy-making in the field of gender+ equality, as well as the interconnections between politicians’ endurance and public opinion attitudes towards politics in highly volatile party systems.
Before joining the SUCCESS project Francesca has contributed to different projects on gender inequality and worked as a consultant on gender equality for different associations and organizations, such as International IDEA.
Get to know Francesca
Is there a TV-show you are binging now?
I really try to not binge…I associate this to the hard lock-downs during the Covid-19 pandemic! But I am a big fan of the Star Wars universe, and I always wait for the new series!
Which podcasts are you listening to right now and why?
I listen daily to the Italian press review “Prima Pagina”. Living abroad, this is my way to avoid losing track of Italian politics, I guess! I also listen very often to “Morgana”, an Italian podcast exploring the biographies of “unconventional” women and non-binary people around the world. I find this mix of ordinary and exceptional lives inspirational. For all other curiosities, from the origin of crocodiles to…whatever else, I listen to BBC’s “In our times”.
Is there a book you would recommend within your field?
Only one?! I will give two. Among recent publications, Ana Catalano Weeks’s “Making gender salient” is excellent. Theoretically rich, empirically relevant and an amazing – really amazing – example of mixed-method research. Among the classics, I think everyone in this field of research should read “Masculinities” by Raewyn Connell.
Which novel would you recommend for purely entertainment purposes?
The “Buddha of Suburbia” by Hanif Kureishi. It is an amusing and provocative coming-of-age story. In the background, London social turmoil in the 1960s and 1970s.
How would you describe your desk?
With two big screens to get a better overview on the work I am doing. Then books, scrap paper, a cup with some ginger tea. I also like to have a colorful plant and some small pictures of friends to keep me company. It is not a messy desk, but definitely a lived one.
What is your favorite thing to do to relax?
Maybe because I am from Sicily, but my favorite thing would be going to the seaside, always. Swimming, sunbathing, or simply staring at the waves will do the trick. In the absence of sea nearby – which is often the case – I practice yoga.
If you had to choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
“Pasta c’anciova”, a very simple and traditional Sicilian dish. The mix of oregano, tomato paste, anchovies and raisins is the smell of home to me and I never get tired of it!
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