Samanthi J. Gunawardana is a Senior Lecturer in Gender and Development in the Faculty of Arts at Monash University, and a member of the Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre. From 2013-2022, Samanthi was the Course Director for the Master of International Development Practice. Her research examines the impact of development policy on employment systems, labour, and livelihoods among rural women in South Asia, and South East Asia with a particular emphasis on gender, development and labour in Sri Lanka. Samanthi works closely with community-based organisations, non-government organisations and other actors to help design evidence-based policy.