Sharmila Parmanand

Dr. Sharmila Parmanand is an Assistant Professor in Gender, Development, and Globalisation at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Department of Gender Studies. She is also an Associate Academic at the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and co-convenor of the Development Studies Association Women and Development Study Group. Her research examines colonial histories, gendered logics in development interventions, and feminist entanglements with the state, focusing on migration, gender-based violence, and social protection in the Global South. She is completing her first book, Saving Our Sisters: The Politics of Anti-Trafficking and Sex Work in the Philippines, and researching sex work activisms across Southeast Asia.

Education: PhD in Gender Studies (University of Cambridge, Gates Scholar), MA in Gender and Development (University of Melbourne, Australian Leadership Scholar), BA in Political Science (Ateneo de Manila University, Cum Laude). Languages: English, Filipino.

Research interests include anti-trafficking policies, migration, sex work activism, gender and populism, and feminist ethnography. She critiques paternalistic interventions and advocates for marginalized voices in policy-making. Current projects explore Duterte’s war on drugs, pandemic responses, and returning migrant workers’ inclusion via the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW).

Major awards include ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (LSE, 2021–22), Gates Cambridge PhD Scholarship (2016–20), and the Australian Leadership Award (2011–12). Her work appears in Anti-Trafficking Review, Journal of International Women’s Studies, and Feminist Review.

Teaching and leadership experience includes roles at the University of Vermont, University of the Philippines, and Ateneo de Manila University. She emphasizes ethical research practices, reciprocal community engagement, and challenging epistemic inequalities in academia.