Bharati Sadasivam
Governing Board Member
Before coming to the UN, she was with the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, based in New York, where she directed the gender justice programme, and partnered with women’s organizations worldwide to monitor progress on government commitments on the Beijing and Cairo platforms for action. She has also worked as a researcher with the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women in Malaysia. Bharati began her career as a journalist in India and worked as reporter and editor in several news organizations, lastly as assistant editor and op-ed page editor with The Times of India in Bombay. She graduated with distinction from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1996, majoring in human rights and humanitarian development. She has published on development, gender and human rights issues.
Bharati Sadasivam is an international development professional with more than 30 years of combined working experience in the United Nations, women’s organizations and journalism. Until September 2021 she was regional gender advisor for UNDP at its Istanbul Regional Hub, supporting Country Offices and territories in the eastern Europe and CIS region in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in policies and programmes. Before moving to Istanbul in 2014, she was Team Manager of the Civil Society Division at UNDP in New York, where she led the organization’s work in policies, partnerships and strategies guiding engagement with civil society. Prior to joining UNDP, Bharati worked as a researcher in the Policy and Planning Division of UNICEF and in the Division for Social Policy and Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.