Jahnvi Andharia

Dr. Jahnvi Andharia has been working in the development sector for over 25 years. She received her  Master of Arts in Social Work from TISS  in 1989 after completing her BA in Psychology and Sociology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, developing her understanding of poverty and women’s equality.  She was awarded a PhD  for her thesis on Impact of Progressive Laws and Civil Society Facilitation on Empowerment : Women Law Users’ Perspective, in 2018.

In 1995, Dr. Jahnvi and her 4 colleagues founded ANANDI, an organisation that followed a collective leadership model, working among the poorest communities of Gujarat. For nearly two decades, she worked directly with women from poor and marginalised communities of rural areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra shaping her perspective on what feminism is, not just in theory but in practice as well. This work has contributed to make meaning of terms such as intersectionality, vulnerability, marginalisation and empowerment. 

She worked for three years with the then largest, Indian Philanthropy, developing the grant portfolio of  Civil Society, Governance and Human Rights. Dr. Jahnvi joined ISDM in 2018 as  bricoleur and became the Program Director – Post Graduate Program in Development Leadership in 2019. 

She currently is the Director and Research fellow at Institute of Social Studies Trust, New delhi. 

She has co- authored several papers on wide ranging themes with a focus on gender equality put out in the public domain and supports governance of women led organisations.