Dr. Diya Dutta
Sociologist · Feminist Researcher · Evaluation Specialist
Sociologist · Feminist Researcher · Evaluation Specialist
Diya Dutta holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University and an M.Phil. in Development Studies from Oxford University. She was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan to read for the M.Phil. degree. Diya’s work sits at the convergence of research methods and evaluation approaches—with a particular focus on qualitative, feminist evaluations.
Over two decades, Diya has led gender and feminist research—including feminist participatory action research—across India and South Asia, and worked on programmes spanning South East Asia, MENA, West Africa and gender rights issues in the LAC region.
Download Full CVMy work specializes in the convergence between research methods and evaluation principles — especially qualitative, feminist evaluations.
SRHR, gender-transformative care policies and social protection, paid and unpaid care work in the global South, climate and gender.
Chronic poverty, inequality, discrimination, and female labour force participation in India and South Asia.
Gender-based violence and Violence Against Women and Girls, and women's political empowerment.
Decentralized governance, shifting civic space for civil society actors, accountability and transparency of multilateral banks, ESG issues.
South Asia, South East Asia, MENA and West Africa; gender rights issues in the LAC region; trade, investment and regional cooperation.
Doctoral research on the impact of economic liberalisation on the elderly urban middle class in India; demography and social change.
Centre for Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences. Thesis: 'Negotiating New Vulnerabilities: Impact of Economic Liberalisation on the Elderly Urban Middle Class in India'.
Oxford Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House — on a Commonwealth Scholarship. Gender, South Asian Studies, Development Economics; professional training for social scientists at the Saïd Business School.
Awarded Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Contribution to the Academic Ethos of the College (2004); nominated for the Faculty Prize (2004).
Led an organization-wide MEAL system institutionalizing outcome assessment, impact measurement and learning loops; developed a Feminist MEAL approach and oversaw evaluation peer review across two programmatic divisions.
Research on female labour force participation in India, effects of climate and economic shocks on care norms, women and plantation politics, and global care migration chains.
Overall research lead across themes and regions; co-author of On Women's Backs: India Inequality Report 2020; Davos Co-Lead 2020 for the global Inequality Report launch.
Supported MEL activities across programmes; designed and executed research and evaluation studies; contributed to research funding proposals.
In charge of two projects on South Asia regional cooperation in trade and investment; Editor at The SARCist; team leader for a UNDP-CPR background paper on SAARC Development Goals.
Gender Responsive Governance programme promoting women's political leadership across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan; programme delivery responsibility of over USD 2 million.
Research roles at the Oxford Department of International Development, Overseas Development Institute (London), NCAER, IFMR Chennai and the School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University; editorial work at Sage Publications and OUP India.
In my free time, I ace word games, read voraciously, travel extensively, experiment with world cuisine, and write quirky life observations on social media. I speak English, Bengali, Hindi and basic French.
Download my complete CV, or reach out directly to discuss how we can work together.
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