Dr. Irene Awuor is a distinguished Gender and Development Specialist with extensive experience advancing gender equality, social inclusion, and women’s empowerment across Africa. With over 15 years of experience in program design, research, and policy advocacy, she has worked at the intersection of gender, governance, and social justice—ensuring that development interventions are both equitable and transformative.

Her expertise spans gender mainstreaming, women’s economic empowerment, social norms transformation, and gender-based violence prevention, with a strong grounding in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) for gender-responsive programming. Dr. Awuor has led and advised on large-scale gender initiatives across government, UN agencies, and international NGOs, supporting the development of frameworks, capacity-building strategies, and research that strengthen institutional accountability to gender equality commitments.

As a scholar-practitioner, Dr. Awuor combines academic rigor with practical field experience, contributing to evidence-based programming that places women and girls at the center of development. She is passionate about creating enabling environments where women’s voices drive change and where gender justice is embedded in policy, practice, and culture. Through her leadership, she continues to champion gender-transformative approaches that challenge inequities and promote inclusive and sustainable development.