Melanie Hughes, PhD
- Professor
My primary interests lie in the study of gender and politics across countries. I have published numerous articles on the topic in journals such as American Sociological Review, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, and Social Forces. I coauthored a book titled Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective, now in its Fourth Edition (Rowman & Littlefield, March 2020). I am particularly interested in the ways that gender intersects with other forces of marginalization to influence women’s political power. My book manuscript in progress investigates the political dominance of men from racial, ethnic, and religious majority groups worldwide. I also work hard to connect my research to policymakers, practitioners, and the public. Since 2015, I have been collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to increase the availability of data on gender equality in public administration.
Education & Training
- PhD, The Ohio State University, 2008
- MA, The Ohio State University, 2004
- BA, University of Texas- Austin, 2001
Representative Publications
Recent Publications:
Forthcoming. Arana Araya, Ignacio, Melanie M. Hughes, and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán. “Judicial Reshuffles and Women Justices in Latin America.” American Journal of Political Science.
2020. Paxton, Pamela, Melanie M. Hughes, and Tiffany D. Barnes. Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective, 4th Edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
2019. Plummer, Samantha, Melanie M. Hughes, and Jackie Smith. “The Challenges of Organizational Classification: A Research Note.” Social Currents. Online First. doi:10.1177/2329496519878469.
2019. Hughes, Melanie M., Pamela Paxton, Amanda B. Clayton, and Pär Zetterberg. “Global Gender Quota Adoption, Implementation, and Reform.” Journal of Comparative Politics 51(2):219–238.
2018. Childs, Sarah, and Melanie M. Hughes. “‘Which Men?’ How an Intersectional Perspective on Men and Masculinities Helps Us Understand Women’s Persistent Political Under-Representation.” Politics & Gender 14(2):282–287.
2018. Hughes, Melanie M., Pamela Paxton, Sharon Quinsaat, and Nicholas Reith. “Does the Global North Still Dominate the International Women’s Movement? A Network Analysis of Women’s International Nongovernmental Organizations, 1978-2008.” Mobilization 23(1):1–21.
2018. Tripp, Aili Mari, and Melanie M. Hughes. “Methods, Methodologies, and Epistemologies in Gender and Politics Research.” European Journal of Politics & Gender 1(1-2):241–257.
Research Interests
- Political sociology
- Sex and gender
- Race/class/gender
- Global and transnational sociology
- Quantitative methodology
