Ankita is the Sector Lead at MSC’s Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) team, with a focus on advancing inclusive systems and outcomes globally. She has more than 12 years of experience in projects with multilateral organizations, development banks, and national and state governments, driving state-wide and national policy reforms, as well as non-government organizations across Asia and Africa. Her expertise includes gender mainstreaming, gender-responsive project design and management, public policy, and the elimination of gender-based violence. She specializes in gender-responsive budgeting and institutional capacity building. Before joining MSC, Ankita was a Social and Gender Development Expert at UN Women and the Asian Development Bank. She holds a master’s degree in development studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, and was selected as a global gender leader by the Swedish Institute, Sweden, and the GRÓ Centre, Iceland, under the auspices of UNESCO. She is fluent in English, Hindi, and Kannada.

Before joining MSC, Ankita was a Social and Gender Development Expert at UN Women and Asian Development Bank, New Delhi where she undertook various roles, from managing and strengthening the gender budgeting ecosystem to policy development and technical assistance to the government. She holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, and has been selected as a global gender leader by Swedish Institute, Sweden and the GRO Centre, Iceland under the auspices of UNESCO. She is fluent in English, Hindi, and Kannada.