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Jeni Klugman

ADVANCE FINANCIAL SERVICES AWARD WINNER 2013


“Jeni is well respected as a development thinker and practitioner; she demonstrates leadership and is innovative in her approach to issues; and she is making major contributions to development. Jeni’s work, with its substantive focus on equity and human development, and now more directly with her leadership of the gender equality agenda at the World Bank, is deeply relevant to building an equitable and inclusive Australia.”  Rt Hon Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP and former Prime Minister of New Zealand

Dr Jeni Klugman is the Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank Group. In her current role, she acts as lead spokesperson for gender equality issues, and is responsible for promoting the institution’s gender and development priorities following the release of the 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development. She currently serves on the World Economic Forum’s Advisory Board on Sustainability and Competitiveness, as well as on several Advisory Boards, including those related to work of  the Council on Foreign Relations, Plan International, International Civil Society Network, UNDP 2013 World Report on Democratic Governance, and an European Union research program on GDP and beyond, and is a fellow of the Human Development and Capabilities Association. 

Prior to taking up this position in August 2011, Jeni was the director and lead author of three global Human Development Reports published by the United Nations Development Programme: Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development (2009); The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development (2010); and, Sustainability and Equity: a Better Future for All (2011).  From 1992-2008, she held various positions at the World Bank, focusing in particular on poverty, inequality and human development in low income countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.

Jeni has published a number of books, papers and reports on topics ranging from poverty reduction strategies and labour markets to conflict, health reform, education and decentralisation.  She holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University, as well as postgraduate degrees in Law and Development Economics from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.


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