PEOPLEAlexandra Tomaselli

de en it

Alexandra Tomaselli

Senior Researcher
Institute for Minority Rights

T +39 0471 055 217

alexandra.tomaselli@eurac.edu

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7886-3912

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About

Research interests:

Minorities and stateless nations
Human, minority and Indigenous rights
Gender and Queer studies
Intersectionality
Socio-legal studies

Short CV

I am a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Minority Rights of Eurac Research, Bolzano-Bozen (Italy). Since 2004, I have been working as project coordinator and manager in a number of EU-funded R+D projects in Europe, Latin America, and South Asia. I have published several project reports and scientific articles and delivered a number of lectures and presentations on the subjects of linguistic and national minorities, stateless nations, human and indigenous peoples’ rights, anthropology of law, and other related topics both in Europe and overseas. My recent research also includes intersectionality, gender studies and SDGs. Among my recent publications: the single-authored book Indigenous Peoples and their Right to Political Participation: International Law Standards and their Application in Latin America published by Nomos in 2016; the co-edited bilingual book Challenges to indigenous political and socio-economic participation: Natural Resources, Gender, Education and Intellectual Property / Desafíos de los pueblos indígenas en su participación política y socio-económica: Recursos Naturales, Género, Educación y Propiedad Intelectual, which is a Eurac E-Book of 2017; and the co-edited collection titled The Prior Consultation of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America: Inside the Implementation Gap published by Routledge in September 2019.

External profiles:

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7886-3912

https://scholar.google.it/citations?hl=it&user=zCak0w8AAAAJ

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexandra-Tomaselli

https://eurac.academia.edu/TomaselliAlexandra

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-tomaselli-8b26531a8

Scientific Publications

Report2025

Climate Justice: What it is and how it relates to other justice concepts and components (ASCEND project)

Balest J, Voltolini F, Tomaselli A, Bernhard von Schlechtleitner AL, Budabin AC, De Bortoli I, Pedoth L, Gruber M,

Alexandra Tomaselli, Jessica Balest, Lydia Pedoth, Isidoro De Bortoli, Mirjam Gruber, Alexandra Budabin, Anna Lea Bernhard von Schlechtleitner, Adriana Recalde Martínez, Federico Voltolini

Progetto: Giustizia climatica e intersezionalità: dall’adattamento alla trasformazione

Climate justice examines the responsibilities and impacts of climate change through a justice framework, incorporating distributive, procedural, recognitional, and corrective justice. It intersects with concepts like social inequality, vulnerability, and resilience. This report thus first traces the evolution of inequality studies in relation to climate justice, highlighting how the uneven and asymmetric access to and distribution of resources reflect the core principles of climate (in)justice. It also offers a systematic review of the most prominent definitions of climate justice in scientific literature, followed by a critical analysis of its implications for climate change research. In particular, it includes a diagnosis of concepts and debates closely related to climate justice that have often been treated separately, fostering cross-fertilization and cross-disciplinary dialogues that bridge different perspectives. Finally, it highlights the need for climate research and policy to consider the diverse nature of societies and how different groups and communities access services and processes. It ultimately calls for significant societal changes that address current power structures.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.57749/fjqf-gm87

Edited book2025

Excluded Spaces: The Impact of Gender-Based Violence on Diverse Expressions / Espacios Excluidos: El Impacto de la Violencia de Género en las Expresiones Diversas

Tomaselli A, Merino-Sancho V

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: ABI - Intersezionalità empirica in contesti di minoranze

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a ubiquitous phenomenon that affects all our societies in vicious forms. With this edited collection we aim to contribute to the knowledge gap on GBV by bringing cases from Italy, Spain and India on four under-researched dimensions: GBV against disabled minors, trans people, and Dalit women. This helps to understand the dynamics of GBV when the victims are not only adult women, that at least are captured by statistics, but also most invisible peoples that find themselves at the vicious intersection of gender and other axes such as disability, sexual identity and ethnicity.

La violencia de género (VG) es un fenómeno omnipresente que afecta a todas nuestras sociedades de formas brutales. Con esta colección editada, pretendemos contribuir a la brecha de conocimiento sobre la VG presentando casos de Italia, España e India sobre cuatro dimensiones poco investigadas: VG contra menores con discapacidad, personas trans y mujeres dalit. Esto ayuda a comprender la dinámica de la VG cuando las víctimas no son solo mujeres adultas, que al menos aparecen en las estadísticas, sino también las personas más invisibles que se encuentran en la virulenta intersección del género y otros ejes como la discapacidad, la identidad sexual y la etnia.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.57749/PS8Q-3F33

Inbook2025

Indigenous Land Rights in Chile: Dispossession, Misrecognition, and Litigation

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: ABI - Autonomia culturale e territoriale

Despite Chile’s recent attempts at constitutional reform, Indigenous land rights are (still) governed by the much-contested Indigenous Law of 1993 (Law No. 19,253). The land restitution program foreseen in this law is extremely slow and controversial, and the establishment of Indigenous Territories (by ordinary law) appears far from becoming a reality. At the same time, there are few recognized Indigenous territories in Chile, and these are constantly faced with a high density of hydro-electric plants, extractivist activities, disproportionate forest and logging exploitation, salmon farming, and an increasing tourism industry. Over the years, Indigenous Peoples have reacted in different ways to dispossession and encroachment. Driven by frustration, some Indigenous Peoples have violently occupied their ancestral lands. Others have filed lawsuits and found a more equitable venue to claim their rights in the national courts. Against this background, this chapter analyses the processes of dispossession faced by Indigenous Peoples over their traditional lands, how they contested the titles to ownership and possession of such territories, and the outcomes from their litigation strategies, both in the north and south of Chile over recent decades. After the rejections of both constitutional reforms in 2022 and 2023, there remains uncertainty for how Indigenous land rights will be governed in the coming years or how they will be treated in the potential reform of the 1980’s Constitution. Despite the unfavorable legislative framework, this chapter argues Indigenous strategic litigation can best advance and support land rights in Chile.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.1017/9781009521581.007

Journal article2025

Intersectional analysis of gender employment gaps in multilingual wealthy regions

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: Intersezionalità di Genere ed Etnicità nella Partecipazione Socioeconomica in Südtirol /Alto Adige e Catalogna in tempi post-pandemici , ABI - Intersezionalità empirica in contesti di minoranze

The gender employment gap is a widespread reality, albeit with significant differences between the Global North and South. In Europe, the World Economic Forum, in 2024, has predicted this gap may close in 134 years. Eurostat and the Gender Equality Index show that since 2010 gender equality in labour has been progressing slowly. National statistics show that some states perform better (e.g. Spain) than others (e.g. Italy). Substate statistics may show reverse situations in wealthy regions (e.g. Catalonia and South Tyrol). Although statistics have begun adopting an intersectional approach regarding, e.g. age, origins, and disability, they offer a limited picture. Moreover, statistics are stuck in the binary division of sex assigned at birth without considering the growing (i.e. more visible) nonbinary population. Hence, they conceal that part of the gender gap that refers to LGBTQIA+ individuals. In this frame, this article uses an intersectional lens to explore how gender, ethnicity, race, and other social drivers and external factors impact the gender employment gap even in wealthy regions with low unemployment rates. Simultaneously, it suggests expanding the understanding of the gender employment gap by including the perspective of LGBTQIA+ individuals, who, like women, remain among those sectors of society that are underrepresented in the labour market. This research ultimately contributes to the understanding of how a wide array of social drivers and external factors may eventually feed the gender employment gap into a vicious circle by considering factors, such as antigypsyism or gender-based violence, that are usually dealt with separately.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2025.2505127

Report2025

Intersectional Climate Justice Adaptation (ASCEND project)

Recalde Martínez A, Pedoth L, Tomaselli A, Vergara V

Alexandra Tomaselli, Lydia Pedoth, Adriana Recalde Martínez

Progetto: Giustizia climatica e intersezionalità: dall’adattamento alla trasformazione

Climate change intensifies social inequalities, yet traditional research often neglects how factors like gender, ethnicity, race, age, disability, and socioeconomic status create unique vulnerabilities. The ASCEND project aims to merge climate justice principles with an intersectional approach, highlighting gender, minority, youth, and migrant perspectives in both theory and practice. This report explores how states, regions, and communities outside South Tyrol have succeeded or failed in applying an intersectional lens in local climate change adaptation planning. The objective was to draw lessons from these cases to foster cross-fertilization and inspire strategies for South Tyrol, identifying existing research gaps, needs, and foci for future research. It discusses intersectionality in climate research, outlines methodologies, presents key findings, and offers lessons learned and recommendations. A glossary of intersecting social factors and a comprehensive list of cases are included in the appendix.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.57749/tm3s-s881

Inbook2025

Introduction to Excluded Spaces: The Impact of Gender-Based Violence on Diverse Expressions

Tomaselli A, Merino-Sancho V

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: ABI - Intersezionalità empirica in contesti di minoranze

The multifaceted nature of gender-based violence (GBV) is compounded by intersecting social categories
and demands a nuanced and inclusive approach to capture the diverse experiences of all individuals
affected. As the authors of this collection flag, research must navigate personal, familial, societal, and
professional barriers, which complicate the identification and reporting of violence. Moreover, shifting
public perceptions and the rise of anti-gender movements further strain efforts to address GBV
comprehensively. Thus, while strides have been made, there is a pressing need for continued dedication
to expanding the scope and depth of GBV research, ensuring that all voices, particularly those of the
most marginalized, are heard and protected.

DOI

DOI: 10.57749/PS8Q-3F33

Inbook2025

What Hinders (an Effective) Socioeconomic Participation of Minority Women?: An Intersectional Analysis on South Tyrol and Catalonia

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: ABI - Intersezionalità empirica in contesti di minoranze

In October 2023, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities adopted its tenth set of Recommendations specifically focusing on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Social and Economic Life. The obligation upon state parties to enhance socioeconomic participation of minority members is also enshrined in article 15 of the Framework Convention on National Minorities. This article, however, and the literature related to it, has mainly focused on one of the other key dimensions of minority participation, namely the political aspect. Although this remains crucial, socioeconomic studies on minorities are rare, even more with regard to minority women.

Focusing on socioeconomic participation as access to work, education and social and public services, this chapter explores the difficulties that minority women face in this field through an intersectional approach. It builds upon recent empirical data on two of the wealthiest (minority) regions in Europe, namely South Tyrol (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain), both of which register low unemployment rates and good rates of women workers.

Despite minority women’s participation may seem high in numbers, this chapter shows how underlining assumptions on minority and on women ultimately intersect and have a negative impact upon them. Also, it points at unveiling how the intersection with other social drivers and conditions (e.g., age, disability, gender-based violence) eventually hinder an effective socioeconomic participation of minority women.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.4324/9781003510161-12

Journal article2024

An Intersectional Analysis of Precarity and Exploitation: Women and LGBTQIA+ Workers in Substate Neoliberal Systems

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

The intersection of gender and ethnicity or race lies at the root of structural discrimination and racist practices for accessing the labor market and in the workplace. This discrimination is particularly evident for women and LGBTQIA+ individuals who either belong to ethnic minorities or are migrants. However, numerous other social drivers (e.g., age, class, origins) and external factors (e.g., prejudices, gender‐based violence) further hinder their participation in the work domain and their attainment of fair labor conditions. This article explores how gender, ethnicity, and race intersect and operate with other conditions and factors to perpetuate the precarity and exploitation of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals who find themselves at the nexus of varied intersectional axes. The discussion centers around two neoliberal substate units in the Global North (South Tyrol, in Italy, and Catalonia, Spain) that register low unemployment rates and high rates of migration and that are home to historical, linguistic, and ethnic minorities. This empirical article provides for an informed debate on the lived experience of precarity and exploitation of women and LGBTQIA+ workers, and an analysis of how neoliberal substate units’ labor and gender policies could be reformed.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.17645/si.7744

Inbook2024

Chapter 5 - Extractive industry for the Green Transition: mining, and land conflicts in the lithium triangle of South America

Hira A, Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: ABI - Autonomia culturale e territoriale

The Observatory of Mining Conflicts in Latin America (Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina) registered 191 ongoing mining-related conflicts across the Andean region as of July 6, 2022. The extractive industry has led to adverse effects vis-à-vis both environment and biodiversity (e.g., pollution) and, most importantly, local mountain communities (mainly, Indigenous Peoples) who tend to be excluded from the benefit-sharing of such mining projects and bear a number of costs, from the loss of their traditional land to other health and energy-related issues.

This chapter offers a short case study of the so-called “lithium triangle,” which is in the Andes (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile or ABC), as an illustrative example of the challenges that mining is posing to the mountain environment and local communities. The case is chosen because lithium is a strategically vital resource whose global demand is growing exponentially, as it is a key element in battery technology, the basis of electrification to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As such, the case directly touches upon SDGs 1 (no poverty); 7 (clean energy); 12 (responsible consumption and production); 13 (climate change); 15 (life on land); and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions). Moreover, the case is symptomatic of issues around mining in mountain regions. The chapter offers a policy and legal analysis of the lithium extractive industry and its effects on the local reality. We point at the need for greater community participation in decision-making around lithium mining to reduce potential conflicts and ensure local benefits.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-443-32824-4.00003-1

Inbook2024

Divided across Borders: The Impacts of the Creation of States on Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights in Northern Europe

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: ABI - Autonomia culturale e territoriale

This chapter challenges belonging and borders from a decolonial perspective by focusing on the impact of the creation of states on the Indigenous Sámi people in the three Nordic States (Norway, Sweden and Finland) and the Russian Federation.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.3726/b18969

Edited book2024

Gender Report Südtirol

Tomaselli A, Crepaz K, Gruber M

Alexandra Tomaselli, Katharina Crepaz, Mirjam Gruber

Der Gender Report soll auf der Grundlage wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse einen Überblick darüber geben, wie die verschiedenen Aspekte und Dynamiken von Gender bisher in Südtirol behandelt wurden, und gleichzeitig Anregungen für Reflexion und innovative Perspektiven bieten. Der Bericht soll als Instrument zur Verbreitung und Sensibilisierung zu diesem wichtigen Themas dienen, indem er nicht nur eine Momentaufnahme liefert, wie Gender das Leben in Südtirol beeinflusst, sondern auch das lokale entwickelte Wissen festigt und über Erfahrungen und bewährte Praktiken aus anderen Kontexten reflektiert. Darüber hinaus bietet er eine Einführung in die aktuellen Diskussionen über Gender-Konzepte und -Dynamiken auf internationaler und lokaler Ebene und zeigt mögliche Lücken auf, die es in Zukunft zu schließen gilt.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.57749/EEH8-3F92

Report2023

InGEPaST project (WP2) extra Deliverable "Gènere y etnicitat - Informe sobre els resultats del projecte InGEPaST a Catalunya"

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

Progetto: Intersezionalità di Genere ed Etnicità nella Partecipazione Socioeconomica in Südtirol /Alto Adige e Catalogna in tempi post-pandemici

Aquest informe té l'objectiu de fer públics els resultats sobre la realitat catalana del projecte «Interseccionalitat de Gènere i Etnicitat en la Participació Socioeconòmica al Südtirol /Tirol del Sud i Catalunya en temps postpandèmia (InGEPaST)» .

El projecte “Interseccionalitat de Gènere i Etnicitat en la Participació Socioeconòmica en Südtirol /Tirol del Sud i Catalunya en temps post-pandèmics (InGEPaST)” és finançat per la Província Autònoma de Bozen-Tirol del Sud – Divisió de repartiment d’innovació, Recerca, Universitat i Museus.

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8362693

Journal article2025

Intersectional analysis of gender employment gaps in multilingual wealthy regions

Tomaselli A

Alexandra Tomaselli

DOI Fonte

DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2025.2505127

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Alexandra Tomaselli

About

Scientific Publications

Climate Justice: What it is and how it relates to other justice concepts and components (ASCEND project)

Excluded Spaces: The Impact of Gender-Based Violence on Diverse Expressions / Espacios Excluidos: El Impacto de la Violencia de Género en las Expresiones Diversas

Indigenous Land Rights in Chile: Dispossession, Misrecognition, and Litigation

Intersectional analysis of gender employment gaps in multilingual wealthy regions

Intersectional Climate Justice Adaptation (ASCEND project)

Introduction to Excluded Spaces: The Impact of Gender-Based Violence on Diverse Expressions

What Hinders (an Effective) Socioeconomic Participation of Minority Women?: An Intersectional Analysis on South Tyrol and Catalonia

An Intersectional Analysis of Precarity and Exploitation: Women and LGBTQIA+ Workers in Substate Neoliberal Systems

Chapter 5 - Extractive industry for the Green Transition: mining, and land conflicts in the lithium triangle of South America

Divided across Borders: The Impacts of the Creation of States on Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights in Northern Europe

Gender Report Südtirol

InGEPaST project (WP2) extra Deliverable "Gènere y etnicitat - Informe sobre els resultats del projecte InGEPaST a Catalunya"

Science Shots Eurac Research Newsletter

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Scientific Publications

Climate Justice: What it is and how it relates to other justice concepts and components (ASCEND project)

Excluded Spaces: The Impact of Gender-Based Violence on Diverse Expressions / Espacios Excluidos: El Impacto de la Violencia de Género en las Expresiones Diversas

Indigenous Land Rights in Chile: Dispossession, Misrecognition, and Litigation

Intersectional analysis of gender employment gaps in multilingual wealthy regions

Intersectional Climate Justice Adaptation (ASCEND project)

Introduction to Excluded Spaces: The Impact of Gender-Based Violence on Diverse Expressions

What Hinders (an Effective) Socioeconomic Participation of Minority Women?: An Intersectional Analysis on South Tyrol and Catalonia

An Intersectional Analysis of Precarity and Exploitation: Women and LGBTQIA+ Workers in Substate Neoliberal Systems

Chapter 5 - Extractive industry for the Green Transition: mining, and land conflicts in the lithium triangle of South America

Divided across Borders: The Impacts of the Creation of States on Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights in Northern Europe

Gender Report Südtirol

InGEPaST project (WP2) extra Deliverable "Gènere y etnicitat - Informe sobre els resultats del projecte InGEPaST a Catalunya"

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