Adrienne Roberts

Adrienne Roberts is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Manchester and Director of the University of Manchester’s Political Economy Centre. Her work focuses on feminist global political economy, particularly gendered relations of finance, debt, development, and trade. She leads projects like the SSHRC-funded initiative on gender and global trade governance (with Erin Hannah and Silke Trommer) and studies gender dynamics in public banking through the Municipal Services Project. Roberts co-edits the journal New Political Economy and the Routledge/RIPE book series.

• PhD Supervision: Currently guiding 4 students on topics ranging from financialization in India to NHS workforce crises
• Key Research Themes: Social reproduction theory, fiscal policies, transnational business feminism, and global trade governance

Her recent publications (2022–2025) analyze UK fiscal policy during the pandemic, central bank climate governance, and feminist critiques of trade policies. Roberts has co-authored major works including Handbook of the International Political Economy of Gender and Feminist Global Political Economies of the Everyday. She actively engages with policy through consultancy and media contributions, challenging neoliberal frameworks in trade and finance.

Her research bridges macroeconomic governance and micro-level social impacts, emphasizing how financial systems perpetuate gendered inequalities. Current projects interrogate the intersections of austerity, corporate power, and global trade architectures.