Meenakshi Krishnan

MA, MBA

Principal Research Fellow

Meenakshi.Krishnan@employment-studies.co.uk

01273 763511

Meenakshi joins IES as a Principal Research Consultant, with 21 years of experience in consulting across strategic HR, organization development and leadership development. She has worked with top teams across corporate and not for profit organizations to deliver long-term leadership interventions, high potential talent assessments, organizational vision and culture building programs, personal transformation, and gender inclusion workshops. She is a seasoned facilitator, certified executive coach, and conversant in the use of psychometric instruments. Her experience spans diverse sectors including banking and financial services, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and United Nations agencies.

Meenakshi is nearing completion of her PhD in Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Her research expertise lies at the intersections of gender equality and labour market policy, with a focus on women’s unpaid care work work, parental leave, and childcare policy. She is a qualitative researcher experienced in conducting archival research, focus groups and interviews. She has worked extensively on regional and global level care policy reviews, particularly across countries of Asia and the Pacific. She uses a gendered political economy analysis framework to develop insights into policymaking and governance processes.

Meenakshi is passionate about promoting gender equality in the workplace and addressing care needs of workers through HR policy and practice. She is a founding member of the Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusive Leadership at the Xavier Labour Relations Institute in India.

Education

nearing completion	PhD in Development Studies (Gender and Development)	Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK
2017	MA Women’s and Gender Studies	Indira Gandhi National Open University, India
2002	MBA Personnel Management and Industrial Relations	Xavier Labour Relations Institute, India
2000	BA Psychology	Delhi University, India

Career

2020 – 2023	Research Officer, Gender and Governance cluster	Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK
2015 – 2018	Principal Consultant, Leadership Development	OD Alternatives, Mumbai, India
2013 – 2015	Strategic Advisor, HR	Wealth Advisors (India) Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, India
2007 – 2013	Independent Consultant	Self-employed
2002 – 2007	Chief Manager, HR	ICICI Bank Ltd., Mumbai, India

Research publications prior to joining IES

Journal Article

Chopra, D., & Krishnan, M. (2022). ‘Care is not a burden’: A 7-4-7 framework of action for operationalising the Triple R. Gender & Development, 30(1–2), 35–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2022.2066265

Book Chapter

Vishnu, V., & Krishnan, M. (forthcoming). Leading from Within: How women’s “Inner Conversations” shape their outer realities. In Srivastava, N. & Dahl, S. (Eds) Contours of Feminist Praxis and Practice. Routledge. New Delhi.

Research Report

ESCAP. (forthcoming). Model Framework for Action on the Care Economy in Asia and the Pacific. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand.

ESCAP. (2022). Valuing and Investing in Unpaid Care and Domestic Work. Country case study - Cambodia (No. ST/ESCAP/3027). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand.

ESCAP. (2022). Valuing and Investing in Unpaid Care and Domestic Work. Country case study - Philippines (No. ST/ESCAP/3026). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand.

ESCAP. (2021). Addressing Unpaid Care Work in ASEAN (ST/ESCAP/2968). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Jakarta, Indonesia.

ESCAP. (2021). COVID-19 and the Unpaid Care Economy in Asia and the Pacific (ST/ESCAP/2967). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand.

Policy Brief

Chopra, D., Nazneen, S., & Krishnan, M. (2019). Women’s Economic Engagement and Childcare: Moving from Survival to a ‘Triple Boon’ [Policy Brief]. Institute of Development Studies.

Chopra, D., & M. Krishnan. (2019) Linking Family-Friendly Policies to Women’s Economic Empowerment [Evidence Brief]. UNICEF. New York.

Working Paper

Chopra, D., Saha, A., Nazneen, S., & Krishnan, M. (2020). Are Women Not ‘Working’? Interactions between Childcare and Women’s Economic Engagement (IDS Working Paper No. 533). Institute of Development Studies. Brighton.

Technical Handbook

ESCAP. (2022). How to invest in the care economy: A primer. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok, Thailand.

Chopra, D., Sempere, K., & Krishnan, M. (2021). Assessing Unpaid Care Work: A Participatory Toolkit. Institute of Development Studies. https://doi.org/10.19088/IDS.2021.016