Saloni Singh
Ms. Saloni Pradhan Singh is a senior development economist and leading expert in Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) with over three decades of experience in advancing equity, justice, empathy, respect, and applied learning. She is the Former Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) of the Government of Nepal, the apex national institution responsible for national visioning, policy formulation, and development planning under the Chairmanship of the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister. She is also the founder treasurer of Former Planner’s Forum Nepal (A think tank and network of all the former members, Chairs and Vice Chairs of National Planning Commission of Nepal .
Ms. Singh is the Founder Chair of DidiBahini, a pioneering organization promoting gender equality, social justice, and grassroots empowerment in Nepal and across South Asia. Internationally, she serves on the Executive Council of ASPBAE, representing South Asia at the global level. She is also the Gender Focal Point for South Asia and a Global Steering Committee Member of GPPAC, in addition to serving as a Regional Steering Group Member of the South Asia Regional Center for Strategic Studies.
She is a founding executive member of the Asia Pacific Women in Politics (APWIP) network and the Founder Co-Chair of the Nepal Participatory Action Network (NEPAN)—Nepal’s oldest and widest network of participatory development professionals. Ms. Singh is also the Founder Chair of the Coady Alumni Association of Nepal (CAAN) and currently serves as a Visiting Scholar at the Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, Canada.
Ms. Singh holds a Degree in Economics from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and a Degree in Social Development from St. Francis Xavier University, Canada, along with professional certifications from several leading universities in the Philippines, Thailand, UK, Canada, USA etc. She is also honored as visiting scholar in some of the universities of Canada and UK.
Her professional engagements span Nepal and most South Asian countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. She has collaborated with a wide range of national, regional, and international institutions in the areas of women’s empowerment, disaster risk reduction, climate change, natural resource management, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, green economy, international finance, aid effectiveness, education, good governance, and gender and social equity mainstreaming.
A recognized authority in gender and development, Ms. Singh has served as Gender Expert/Advisor for UNDP in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, as well as for Canadian, British, Dutch, German, EU-affiliated, and other international development organizations. She has also led and co-authored significant research works, notably on Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWIP) and Gender, Trade and Green Growth (GTGG) in South Asia.
Committed to advancing inclusive, equitable, and transformative development, Ms.
Singh continues to contribute her expertise to national, regional, and global policy discourses and development initiatives.
