English version

I am a Assistant Professor in demography at the Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova. My research focuses on gender differences in Italy and Europe, particularly in the areas of education, family, and work.

I am also the Principal Investigator of the 2022 PRIN PNRR project titled “FORTIES: Fertility over Forties”, which employs a mixed-method comprehensive approach to understand parental well-being and trajectories of late and latest-late fertility, in collaboration with L. Ortensi and A. Decataldo.

You can download my CV here.

I coordinate the CHILD project, about child mortality during XIX century.
My project ONE, is eligible for FIS2 fundings (still pending).

I teach International Demography, and Social Statistics.

Previously:

  • I collaborated to the EU-FER project.
  • Research Fellow in Sociology at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy
  • Post doc at the University of Bamberg, Germany
  • Associate researcher at the Dondena Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy (Bocconi University of Milan, Italy)
  • PhD in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento

Contacts:

email: alessandra.minello@unipd.it

Main news & updates:

  • Minello, A., Tosi, F., Vettoretto, E., Comolli, C. L., Dalla-Zuanna, G., & Ortensi, L. E. (2026, in press) Delivery type and fertility intentions: Age-stratified evidence from Italian mothers. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026, 24  (1), 1–23.  https://doi.org/10.1553/p-9mzp-nm56
  • Mattioli, F., Minello, A., & Nannicini, T. (in press). The demographic impact of leadership: Mayoral education and COVID-19 excess mortality in Italy. Population and Development Review.
  • Gorodetskaya, O., Vitali, A., Tocchioni, V., & Minello, A. (2026, in press). The best time to become a parent: The relationship between tenure and fertility among academics. PLOS ONE.
  • Minello, A., & Dalla-Zuanna, G. (2026). The risk of being Giovanni or Maria: Naming practices and child mortality during the demographic transition. Population Studies, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2025.2608593
  • Minello, A., & Dalla-Zuanna, G. (2026). Breaking Traditional Rules: The Onomastic Revolution and the Demographic Transition. Journal of Interdisciplinary History 56(4), 407-433. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/994544.
  • Minello, A. (2026). Autodeterminazione e demografia. Le dinamiche della fecondità tra scelte riproduttive e retoriche pubbliche. In C. Abatangelo & G. Marchetti (Eds.), Le violenze contro le donne: prevenzione e rimedi (pp. 79–94). Cacucci Editore.
  • Minello, A. (2025). Senza figli. Scelte, vincoli, conseguenze della denatalità. Ed. Laterza.
  • Minello A. (2025) From Childbirth as an Event to Childbirth as an Experience. The “Embodied Motherhood Penalty” as a New Perspective in Fertility Studies. AG AboutGender, 14(28), 465-486. DOI: 10.15167/2279-5057/AG2025.14.18.2427
  • Vettoretto E., Minello A., Ortensi L.E. and Tosi F. (2025) Understanding the dimensions of mental labor: the invisible load of Italian mothers. Front. Sociol. 10:1683261.
  • Minello, A. (2025) Raccontare e contare. Perché i femminicidi richiedono uno sguardo sociologico. [Telling and counting: Why femicides require a sociological perspective], Polis, Ricerche e studi su società e politica, 3, 407-417, doi: 10.1424/118539 
  • Minello A., Russo C. (2025) The good parent. Emerging themes and gender convergence in narrating fertility choices. Family Relations. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.13185
  • Minello A., Vettoretto E., & Ortensi L. E. (2025) La Violenza ostetrica. Dove e quanto. In Dello Preite, F. e Gheno, V. (eds) Altre prospettive sulla violenza di genere. Sguardi multidisciplinari per la prevenzione e il contrasto, Franco Angeli Ed.
  • Minello A. Nannicini T. (2024) Genitori alla pari. Tempo, lavoro, libertà. Feltrinelli Ed.
  • Minello, A. and Tocchioni, V. (2024) Intergenerational social mobility: The relevance of family and labour-market dynamics for studying the mother-daughter line. In Kilpi-Jakonen, E., Blanden, J., Erola, J., & Macmillan, L. Research Handbook on Intergenerational Inequality. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Beier, L., Minello, A., Uunk, W., Pratter, M. Yastrebov, G. and H.P. Blossfeld (2023) The Emergence of Gender-Specific Competence Patterns and Decision Making During the Course of Educational and Job Careers in Germany. In Weinert, S., Blossfeld, G., & Blossfeld, H.-P. (eds.). Education, Competence Development and Career Trajectories: Analysing Data of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Methodology of Educational Measurement and Assessment. Cham: Springer.
  • Fariello, S. and Minello, A. (2023) Dal passato al presente. Dinamiche di fecondità, interpretazioni sociali e politiche pubbliche per un Paese che invecchia. In Pacifici Noja, U. G. Global health, conflitti e dinamiche di genere. Tab edizioni.
  • Lappegård, T., Kristensen, A. P., Dommermuth, L., Minello, A., and Vignoli, D. (2022) The impact of narratives of the future on fertility intentions in Norway. Journal of Marriage and Family, 1– 18. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12822
  • Matera, C., Dommermuth, L., Bacci, S., Bertaccini, B., Minello, A., Vignoli, D. (2022) Perceived Economic Uncertainty and Fertility Intentions in Couples: A Dyadic Extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Journal of Family and Economic  Issues https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-022-09872-x
  • Vignoli, D., Minello, A., Bazzani, G., Matera, C., Rapallini, C. (2022) Narratives of the Future Affect Fertility: Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment. European Journal of Population. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-021-09602-3
  • Minello A. (2022) Non è un Paese per madri. Bari, Laterza editori.
  • Martucci, S., Minello, A., & Manzo, L. K. C. (2022). The Unequal Ivory Tower. In Fornalè E. (ed.) Gender Equality in the Mirror. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004467682_009
  • Minello A., Dalla Zuanna G. and G. Alfani (2021) The growing number of given names as a clue to the beginning of the demographic transition in Europe. Demographic Research, 45(6): 187-220. DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2021.45.6
  • New scientific article: Tocchioni V., Petrucci A., Minello A. (2021 – in press) Short-term and long-term international scientific mobility of Italian PhDs: An analysis by gender. Proceedings of the Statistics and information systems for policy evaluation Conference. Firenze University Press.
  • New book chapter (only Italian): Dalla Zuanna G., Minello A., Vignoli D. (2021) Da Venere verso Marte. Nuovi comportamenti e ricerca del piacere. In: Dalla Zuanna G., Vignoli D.: Piacere e fedeltà, i millennials italiani e il sesso. Bologna, Il Mulino.
  • New scientific article: Minello A., Martucci S., and Manzo L. K. C. 2020, The pandemic and the academic mothers: present hardships and future perspectives, European Societies, DOI: 10.1080/14616696.2020.1809690
  • Solicited contribution: The pandemic and the female academic, Nature doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-01135-9
  • New scientific article: Minello, A., Caltabiano, M., Dalla-Zuanna, G., Vignoli, D. (2020) Catching up! The sexual behaviour and opinions of Italian students (2000–2017). Genus 76, 16.
    https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-020-00085-4
  • New scientific article: Manzo, L. K. C., Minello A. (2020) Mothers, childcare duties, and remote working under COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: Cultivating communities of care, Dialogues in Human Geography. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/2043820620934268
  • It’s time for mobility research to focus on women, Population Europe
  • Minello A., Dalla Zuanna G. (2019) A gender geography of intentional homicide within and outside of the family: Male and female murders in Europe, the US and Canada (2003–15), European Journal of Criminology, https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819884251
  • Minello A., Dalla Zuanna G. (2019) Morire in Italia: omicidi di donne, omicidi in famiglia, Popolazione e storia.
  • N. Kulic, A. Minello, S. Zella (2019) Manage your money, be satisfied? Money management practices and financial satisfaction of couples through the lens of gender, Journal of family issues, doi: 10.1177/0192513X19891463
  • Participation at the European Conference of Historical Demography, Pécs, Hungary. Article: Nomina nuda tenemus The growing number of given names as a clue of the beginning of the demographic transition by Alessandra Minello, Gianpiero Dalla-Zuanna, Guido Alfani
  • New book chapter: Studienfachwahl MINT durch Frauen – Einfluss von Leistung in Mathematik, Lebenszielen und familialem Hintergrund [Women studying STEM: the influence of the performances in mathematics, life goals and family background]. With Uunk W., L. Beier, A. Minello, P. Blossfeld inMINT oder Care? Eckpunkte einer gendersensiblen Berufsorientierung. Weinheim & Basel: Beltz/Juventa, 2019, ISBN: ISBN:978-3-7799-3940-5
  • Presenting “Wife or businesswoman? The role of gender segregation in defining women’s entry into union in Italy” at Popdays 2019 in Milan.
  • New article: Minello A., Tocchioni V. (2018) Tra lavoro e famiglia: analisi della relazione tra tempo dedicato al lavoro e prima unione in Italia, Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica, LXXII(4): 18-29.
  • New job as Assistant Professor in Demography at the University of Florence. EU-FER project.
  • Discussing the article “Immigrant women’s employment patterns. Disentangling the effects of ethnic origin, religious affiliation and religiosity”, by Guetto R. and Fellini I., at the seminar “Religion and social integration in Europe”. Milan, November 13, 2018.Organization: First SELFY (Sexual and Emotional LiFe of Youths) workshop, Florence, September, 17th and 18th, 2018
  • Scientific coordinator of SELFY: Sexual and Emotional LiFe of Youths
  • National scientific habilitation for Associate professor in Demography and Social Statistics
  • Participation at European Population Conference, 6-9 June 2018, Brussels, Belgium. Presentation: The gender geography of intentional homicide
    within and out of the family. Male and female murders in Europe, US and Canada (2003-2015). Together with Gianpiero Dalla-Zuanna (University of Padua)
  • Participation at Online information quality workshop: Lorentz Center, 26 – 29 March 2018, Leiden, the Netherlands. Presentation: Online information quality: Social sciences, The case of intimate partner homicide in Italy
  • Participation at the SPP1646 Colloquium in Florence. Programme here. Florence, May 23 – 24.
  • Participation at the ISTAT conference: “La violenza sulle donne: i dati e gli strumenti per la conoscenza statistica.” (Violence against women: data and instruments for statistic knowledge): programme here. Rome, March, 28th.
  • Glad to organize StaTalk, a one-day workshops on statistical topics,  together with Valentina Tocchioni (Università di Firenze):programme here. Firenze, February 7th.
  • Country expert for Germany in the EIGE project “Gender-related challenges in European education systems – EIGE/2016/OPER/08”, organized by IRS (Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale), Bologna: since October 2016