UN-Women gets Indian origin Anita Bhatia as new deputy executive director

UNITED NATIONS (UN) secretary-general António Guterres has appointed Indian origin Anita Bhatia as the deputy executive director of the UN agency for gender equality and the empowerment of women (UN-Women) for resource management, sustainability and partnerships.

Bhatia has had a distinguished career at the World Bank Group, serving in various senior leadership and management positions, both at headquarters and in the field.

She brings extensive experience in the area of strategic partnerships, resource mobilization and management.

Bhatia served for several years as director of global partnerships for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm.

She developed and expanded innovative partnerships with public and private sector partners to support IFC strategy in key areas, including fragile and conflict-affected states, gender equality, financial inclusion, and others.

In addition, Bhatia has served as director of development partner relations for the World Bank.

In various positions, she focused on enhancing sustainability, institutional effectiveness and impact through strategic partnerships.

As Head of IFC’s Latin America advisory operations, based in Lima and La Paz, she successfully grew the corporation’s reach and impact in the region.

In addition to Latin America, she has worked in Africa, Europe, Central Asia and South, and East Asia.

Bhatia holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Calcutta University, a Master of Arts in Political Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor in Law from Georgetown University.