Marya Hillesland

Marya is a political economist with a focus on social inequalities and development. As research officer at the Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, she worked on trans-disciplinary research on water insecurity as part of REACH: Improving water security for the poor programme and the GCRF Hub for Water security and sustainable development. She led the design and development of a large household survey administered in multiple waves in Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ethiopia for WISER as part of REACH, along with a mixed methods project in Kilifi County, Kenya. Her research draws on both quantitative and qualitative methods and has focused on water insecurity, agriculture and livelihoods, intrahousehold dynamics, women’s (and men’s) empowerment and agency, and asset and wealth inequalities. Her current role is Gender Advisor at the KIT Institute.