Dr. Melissa Langworthy (she/her) 

Principal  Researcher – Inclusive Markets

“Gender matters everywhere in the world. I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: We must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists. 

Dr Melissa Langworthy is a feminist economist specializing in inclusive and sustainable development, gender equality and economic justice. She earned a MSc from the London School of Economics and completed her PhD at Tulane University in the US.  Her regional expertise is in MENA and Asia and the Pacific, where her research focuses on two primary areas: (1) global women’s enterprise and (2) evolving social and economic ecosystems in the Gulf states.

Over her 20-year career, Dr Langworthy has worked as a researcher, facilitator, and human rights advocate working to create more equitable, accountable, and sustainable institutional structures through nuanced analysis, strategic thinking, and crafting inclusive policies and programs.  Previously, she worked as Senior Gender Expert implementing European Commission gender strategies in all six Arab Gulf countries in addition to serving as a consulting expert to multiple CSO, government, private sector, and multilateral organizations including with UN Women, UNESCAP, Facebook, and Oxfam. 

Dr Langworthy’s work has been published in high-quality journals, including New Political Economy, Journal of Economic Issues, Journal of International Women’s Studies, and Review of International Political Economy. She is the book editor for Gender, Work and Organization and participates in multiple mentoring programs with young scholars globally.

Through her many publications, policy papers, and a forthcoming book, she continues to define and argue the terms and supports needed to drive promotion of high quality, sustainable, and innovative women’s enterprise.

As Principal researcher for Inclusive Market Systems at Includovate, Dr. Langworthy leads client-focused research projects that produce clear, actionable, and inclusive solutions.  She utilizes emergent, intersectional, and participatory designs to ensure that all communities are visible and counted in her work. 

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