research
My publications and research agenda reflect my interests in gender, representation, political parties, and the politics of policymaking. Projects I am excited to be working on explore women and gender in populist radical right parties, femonationalism, gender quotas, and the political causes and consequences of the mental load (cognitive household labor). Most articles below are open access or have linked PDFs. If you cannot access anything, please email me.
Peer-reviewed articles
Merullo, Rossella and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2026. “Women’s Leadership and the Expansion of Populist Radical Right Party Agendas.” Politics and Governance.
Barnes, Tiffany, Giulia Venturini, and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2026. “Gender Quota Laws and Women in Cabinets.” The Journal of Politics.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Fernandes, Jorge M., Bonnie M. Meguid, and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2026. “Thinly Veiled: The Use of Femonationalist Speech in European Parliaments.” British Journal of Political Science.
Timlin, Louise, Ana Catalano Weeks, and Anna Nordnes Helgøy. 2026. “How Can We Improve Gender Balance in Local Government? Family-friendly Policies and Static Ambition in England.” Journal of European Public Policy.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Weeks, Ana Catalano, Helen Kowalewska, and Leah Ruppanner. 2025. “Take a Load Off? Not for Mothers: Gender, Cognitive Labor, and the Limits of Time and Money.” Socius.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Meguid, Bonnie M., Hilde Coffé, Ana Catalano Weeks and Miki Kittilson. 2025. “Strategic Inclusion without Transformation: How Populist Radical Right Parties Engage with Women’s Interests.” Comparative Political Studies.
Weeks, Ana Catalano. 2025. “The Political Consequences of the Mental Load.” European Sociological Review.
2023 APSA Women, Gender, and Politics Research Section Best Paper Award.
Helgøy, Anna Nordnes and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2025. “Crowded Out: The Influence of Mental Load Priming on Intentions to Participate in Public Life.” British Journal of Political Science.
Weeks, Ana Catalano and Leah Ruppanner. 2025. “A Typology of US Parents’ Mental Loads: Core and Episodic Cognitive Labor.” Journal of Marriage and Family 87(3): 966–989.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Weeks, Ana Catalano, Paloma Caravantes, Ana Espírito-Santo, Emanuela Lombardo, Maria Stratigaki, and Sami Gul. 2024. “When Is Gender on Party Agendas? Manifestos and (De-)Democratization in Greece, Portugal, and Spain.” South European Society and Politics. Online first, 18 October.
Coffé, Hilde, Sparsha Saha and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2024. “Quotas or Parity? How the Framing of Positive Action Measures Impacts Public Support and Backlash.” Journal of European Public Policy, online first, 16 September.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Latura, Audrey S. and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2023. “Corporate Board Quotas and Gender Equality Policies in the Workplace.” American Journal of Political Science 67: 606–622.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Weeks, Ana Catalano, Bonnie M. Meguid, Miki Caul Kittilson, and Hilde Coffé. 2023. “When Do Männerparteien Elect Women? Radical Right Populist Parties and Strategic Descriptive Representation.” American Political Science Review 117(2): 421–438.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Weeks, Ana Catalano and Francesco Masala. 2023. “Still ‘the Domain of Men?’ Gender Quotas and Women’s Inclusion in Local Politics in Italy.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 48: 503–534.
Weeks, Ana Catalano and Peter Allen. 2023. “Backlash Against ‘Identity Politics’: Far Right Success and Mainstream Party Attention to Identity Groups.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 11(5): 935–953.
Saha, Sparsha and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2022. “Ambitious Women: Gender and Voter Perceptions of Candidate Ambition.” Political Behavior 44: 779–805.
PDF · Published article · Blog
Weeks, Ana Catalano. 2019. “Quotas and Party Priorities: Direct and Indirect Effects of Quota Laws.” Political Research Quarterly 72(4): 849–862.
Weeks, Ana Catalano. 2018. “Why are Gender Quota Laws Adopted by Men? The Role of Inter- and Intraparty Competition.” Comparative Political Studies 51(14): 1935–1973.
2018 APSA Franklin L. Burdette / Pi Sigma Alpha Award; 2018 APSA Qualitative and Multi-Method Research Section Sage Award.
Weeks, Ana Catalano and Lisa Baldez. 2015. “Quotas and Qualifications: The Impact of Gender Quota Laws on the Qualifications of Legislators in the Italian Parliament.” European Political Science Review 7(1): 119–144.
Catalano, Ana. 2009. “Women acting for women? An analysis of gender and debate participation in the British House of Commons 2005 – 2007.” Politics & Gender 5(01): 45–68.
Working papers and research in progress
Weeks, Ana Catalano. “The Conservative Turn in Gender Policy: Progress, Backsliding, and Backlash.” Invited submission to Annual Review of Political Science.
Weeks, Ana Catalano, with Jorge M. Fernandes and Bonnie M. Meguid. “Femonationalist Politics: How Gendered Rhetoric Shapes Perceptions of Nativist Parties.” Working paper.
Weeks, Ana Catalano, with Anna Helgøy. “Invisible Inequalities: The Domestic Mental Load, Efficacy, and Ambition among Local Politicians.” Working paper.
Weeks, Ana Catalano, with Jessica C. Smith and Jorge Fernandes. “Gender Affinity Reconsidered: How Policy Congruence Conditions Women’s Support for Women Candidates.” Under review.
Weeks, Ana Catalano, with Leah Ruppanner and Casey Scheibling. “Does the Mental Load Trigger Work-Family Conflict and Life Dissatisfaction? Evidence from US Parents.” Working paper.
Chapters and other contributions
Clifton-Sprigg, Joanna, Ana Catalano Weeks, Kerry L. Papps, and Alistair Hunt. 2026. “More Time, Better Pay: What Current and Prospective Parents Want from Parental Leave.” Institute for Policy Research Policy Brief, University of Bath.
Infanger, Camila and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2026. “Exporting Athena Swan? The Politics of Supporting Academic Mothers.” Politics & Gender.
Weeks, Ana Catalano and Anna Helgøy. “Motherhood and the Mental Load.” Entry for the Handbook of Political Socialization, ed. Jill Greenlee. Forthcoming, De Gruyter.
Coffé, Hilde and Ana Catalano Weeks. “Representation.” Entry for the IPSA Companion to Political Science: A Practical Introduction to the 200 Most Important Concepts, ed. Daniel Stockemer et al. Springer Nature.
Weeks, Ana Catalano, Hilde Coffé and Bonnie M. Meguid. “Strategic Descriptive Representation: Progress or Pitfall of Women’s Empowerment?” Entry for the Handbook on Gender and Development: Critical Engagements with Gender and Social Justice, ed. Ulrike Theuerkauf. Forthcoming, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Weeks, Ana Catalano. “Gender Quotas.” Entry for the Gender and Politics Encyclopedia, ed. Zoe Lefkofridi. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Coffé, Hilde, Miki Caul Kittilson, Bonnie M. Meguid and Ana Catalano Weeks. “Parties, Issues and Gender”. 2023. Chapter for The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties, ed. Sofia Vasilopoulou, Neil Carter, Dan Keith, Gyda Sindre. Routledge.
Espírito-Santo, Ana and Ana Catalano Weeks. 2022. “Gender and Politics in Portugal”. Chapter 26 of The Oxford Handbook of Portuguese Politics, ed. Jorge M. Fernandes, Pedro C. Magalhães, and António Costa Pinto. Oxford University Press.
Book reviews
Weeks, Ana Catalano. 2026. Review of Resistance to Gender Quotas in Latin America by Malu C. Gatto. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy.
Weeks, Ana Catalano. 2024. Review of Women, Men, and Elections: Policy Supply and Gendered Voting Behavior in Western Democracies by Rosalind Shorrocks. Politics & Gender 20(4): 1031-1033.