From Safety to Empowerment: Pathways for Improved Mobility for Women in South Asia

In India and Afghanistan, Kevin oversees policy and programming initiatives on social innovations, including economic inclusion for women and youth, citizen engagement, social dimensions of climate change and social risk management in large-scale infrastructure projects. Previously, in partnership with the Government of Indonesia, Kevin led flagship programs on strengthening the Indonesia Village Law, care economy and stunting. He provided strategic direction to the National Program for Community Empowerment Facility in collaboration with development partners. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA), Kevin led a team of talented professionals to develop integrated models on citizen engagement, last mile service delivery and establish proof of concept on SMART models that reach the poorest.  Kevin joined the World Bank in 2002 and since then, he has held several corporate and technical positions, including Special Assistant to the Vice President (East Asia and Pacific Region), Senior Operations Officer (Urban, Rural and Social Development) and Program Manager (Social Development, Indonesia). Most recently, he was the Practice Manager for Social Development in the ECA region. 

Before joining the World Bank, Kevin served in the U.S. Navy. He holds an MBA from Georgetown University. In his spare time, Kevin loves hiking, biking, cooking meals for his family and walking around Lodi Gardens. 

Dr. Shomik Mehndiratta has been at the World Bank since 2002 (except for a short break in 2015) working primarily in East Asia, Latin America and South Asia. He has served in the past as the Transport Practice Manager for Latin America as well as the Transport Sector’s technical lead on urban mobility and climate-informed transport.  In the period 2007-2010 he lived and worked in China and is the co-editor and author of an edited book on Low Carbon Urban Development in China. In 2015 he briefly worked with Uber as Director of Policy; and prior to the World Bank he worked at CRA International, a business and economics consulting firm, based out of Boston MA.   Shomik holds a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and an executive MBA jointly from INSEAD and Tsinghua University. 

Commissioner Chand has served in the Delhi Police (2001-2002) and Sikkim Police (2002-2011) in various capacities including as Superintendent of Police. He has also served in India’s marquee intelligence organization, the Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI) from 2011-2016. During his tenure at CBI, he was part of the special investigation team for several high-profile cases. As Deputy Inspector General, Commissioner Chand has headed the Anti-Corruption Headquarter zone, with pan-India jurisdiction. Currently, he serves as Inspector General (Planning and Modernization) while also holding an additional charge of Principal Resident Commissioner, Sikkim House. 

Commissioner Chand was awarded the President’s Police medal for meritorious services in 2016. He also actively led the preparedness initiatives during COVID-19 and transit of Sikkimese people back home, after the Ukraine crisis. He is also a recipient of the prestigious state award for his services. 

Nobonita holds over two decades of outstanding experience in journalism,media and communications. Prior to joining BRAC, she was the Editor of DBC News. As a journalist, she has worked for leading electronic and print media organisations at home and abroad, including the BBC in the UK and Ekattor Television in Bangladesh. She became a household name as a presenter of radio and television talk shows and rose to nationwide prominence hosting her own primetime talk show “Rajkahon- Nobonita Chowdhuryr Shathe”. These experiences have helped her master a strong ability to identify, absorb and prioritise complex information and present it to the target audience in the most effective manner to achieve the highest possible impact.

Andrea is a practical-theorist cyclist, cycle feminist, and social researcher based in Colombia. She has a degree in Spanish and Literature and a master’s degree in philosophy. Andrea is an urban cyclist who got tired of seeing fewer women than men riding bicycles in her hometown, Bucaramanga (northeastern Colombia), and in 2012, founded the Women Bici-bles collective. Through this initiative, Andrea María has worked to give the bicycle visibility as a vehicle for women’s empowerment.  She is a well-recognized speaker in national and international academic, cultural and social forums, on issues related to cycling and mobility with a focus on gender and feminist urban cycling. 

Karla is a senior gender specialist with experience mainstreaming gender into transport and social protection projects. She has focused on the analysis of the barriers and enabler’s for women’s mobility and accessibility, strategies to address sexual harassment in public transport within urban settings, and gender analysis for rural road projects in Latin America and Africa. She holds a MSc Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Certificate on Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Prior joining the Bank in 2014, she has collaborated with international civil society organizations (ODI, Practical Action, Oxfam) and worked for different agencies of the Mexican government, including the Ministry of Social Development, where, in collaboration with the Mexican Ministry of Women, she was in charge of coordinating the design and implementation of its gender mainstreaming strategy.