Verena Reidinger

I am really happy to share this year's prize for the best dissertation at the @ipz.bsky.social with @reidingerve.bsky.social!

This is an exciting end to an intense but also joyful dissertation journey.

Very proud of our @ipz.bsky.social students who celebrated their graduation tonight. Congratulations to all, especially our prize winners! The prizes for best dissertation go to @reidingerve.bsky.social and @indubioproreto.bsky.social - Congrats! 🎉🥂🍾

Thank you Stefanie, it was a lovely ceremony!

Thank you Jon!!

📢 EPSS 2026 Call for Papers! @hannaeback.bsky.social and I are excited to invite submissions for the Political Representation section at EPSS 2026 in Belfast. EPSS has some exciting new panel formats this year - read on! 🧵

The political consequences of the mental load Abstract. How do levels of cognitive household labour—the ‘mental load’ involved in anticipating, fulfilling, and monitoring household needs—affect politic

🎉 Delighted to share new research out today: The Political Consequences of the Mental Load

📄 European Sociological Review
doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf019
@europeansocreview.bsky.social

What happens to political engagement when the “mental load” of running a household gets too heavy? 🧵

Thank you Bilyana!!

Ausschreibung

@deeesharp.bsky.social & I are looking for a collaborator on a project w/ @offenegesellschaft.bsky.social on empathy-based interventions against affective polarization @uni-hamburg.de
j0b.de/veca

75% PhD position, 1st yr project funded & can be converted to a position w/ teaching afterwards
📆31/08

@valentinaconsiglio.bsky.social, @bpetrova.bsky.social, @indubioproreto.bsky.social, @cc-tp.bsky.social, and many others for their comments! 9/9

Thank you to the two anonymous reviewers at PRQ, @feisenring.bsky.social, @siljahausermann.bsky.social, @anacweeks.bsky.social, @jbslapin.bsky.social, @lucasleemann.bsky.social, Daphne van der Pas, @jesperlindqvist.bsky.social, @mabreyer.bsky.social, @dpzollinger.bsky.social, 8/9

The results also suggest that women legislators are perceived as advocates for women’s interests; a female-majority body may be interpreted as a shift toward policies aligned with those interests, potentially marking a departure from a male-dominated agenda. 7/9

These findings indicate that fears of negative male reactions should not hinder efforts to advance gender parity. They also carry important implications for the design of mechanisms—such as quota laws—to ensure balanced gender representation. 6/9


Gender parity does not signal to men that institutions address their interests less. However, once men are under-represented, they perceive a reduction in output generated in their favor. Furthermore, men, on average, perceive gender parity as the fairest scenario. 5/9

In a well-powered factorial survey experiment fielded in the UK, I manipulate gender representation alongside the representation of age groups, classes, ethnic groups, and ideological camps. I use a treatment for men’s under-representation modeled on real cases (e.g. Finnish government). 4/9

I examine how different levels of gender representation—(1) over-representation of men, (2) parity, and (3) narrow under-representation of men—affect how men expect institutions to represent their interests (i.e., output expectations) and their perceptions of fairness. 3/9

Women’s representation has significantly increased in recent decades. Women have secured half the seats in key decision-making bodies, and in some governments they even outnumber men (e.g., Chile, Finland, and Scotland). 2/9

Do men see gender parity in representation as detrimental to their interests? What about when women’s representation exceeds parity? And how do such shifts affect men’s fairness perceptions? I address these questions in my article, now published in PRQ. 1/9


doi.org/10.1177/1065...

How Men React to Shifts in Gender Representation: Ignored Interests? Good for Society? - Verena Reidinger, 2025 Women’s representation has significantly increased in recent decades. Women even dominate some decision-making bodies. How do these changes influence men’s atti...

Equal representation does not affect men’s expectations regarding policy output. However, if men are under-represented, most men across various sub-groups believe institutions are less likely to cater to their interests journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Thank you Tine for your blazing support! :)

Together with @jellekoedam.bsky.social, @tinepaulsen.bsky.social, and @nicolaiberk.bsky.social, we brought together an amazing group of researchers doing exciting work here in Zurich — and it turned into a super fun, engaging workshop. Huge thanks to everyone who joined and made it so special!

🚨The updated companion site for the 2nd edition of our textbook #foundationsofeuropeanpolitics is now live! Discover all data exercise updates and additions at www.foundationsofeuropeanpolitics.com @catherinedevries.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @jbslapin.bsky.social 🚀🧵1/4

Image of a building of the University of Bremen with the text "Summer School for Women in Political Methodology" and "20 to 26 July at the University of Bremen" writen on it.

🚨 Join us for the next edition Summer School for Women* in Political Methodology in Bremen 🚨

Open to PhD students and early career scholars Fully-funded places available for applicants, deadline 1st of May 📅 summerschoolwpm.org

Online first & open access:

"Social democracy transformed? Party change and union ties"

by Mario T. Taschwer @laurenzennser.bsky.social @reidingerve.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

#Polisky

Socialized with "old cleavages" or "new dimensions": An Age-Period-Cohort analysis on electoral supp... Across Western Europe, the electoral base of formerly dominating parties on the left and the right has been eroding in the past decades. In contrast, …

sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New publication out in Electoral Studies!

In this study, I analyze generational voting differences in Western European multiparty systems - focusing on generational realignment *within* political blocs and using individual survey data spanning over 70 years.

How do voters react to different women's representation trajectories, and what does this tell us about progressive mobilization and backlash dynamics?

I tackle this question in a paper that was part of my PhD and is now out in CPS:
doi.org/10.1177/0010...
1/7

Ich habe für @defactoexpert.bsky.social die Hauptergebnisse meiner Dissertation @ipz.bsky.social zusammengefasst: Es geht dabei um soziokulturelle Komponenten von Status, wie diese sich verändern und ob es einen Backlash gibt.
www.defacto.expert/2023/12/13/w...

A snowy Zurich today created a cozy atmosphere for our workshop on representation at @ipz.bsky.social
Fascinating & innovate studies on governments, representation, voters, parties & candidates! @reidingerve.bsky.social @lenamariahuber.bsky.social @donyhu.bsky.social @anacweeks.bsky.social & more!

Apologies, it must have gotten cut. It is "The insecurity of doing research and the ‘so what question’ in political science: how to develop more compelling research problems by facing anxiety" by Gustafssnn and Hagstrom
link.springer.com/article/10.1...