Adrienne Roberts is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of  Manchester. She specializes in feminist international political economy with a particular focus on the gendered relations of finance, debt, development, and trade. Current research  projects include (1) projects funded by SSHRC and SSHRC/ESRC on gendering global trade (with Erin Hannah and Silke Trommer); (2) research on gender, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship promotion in Pakistan (with Ghazal Mir Zulfiqar); and (3) research on the  gendered relations of debt and finance in contemporary and historical perspective. She has  published extensively in academic journals in the fields of International Political Economy, International Relations, Gender Studies and Development Studies. Her most recent books are Feminist Global Political Economies of the Everyday (with Juanita Elias, Routledge, 2018), Handbook of the International Political Economy of Gender (with Juanita Elias, Edward Elgar, 2018), and Gendered States of Punishment and Welfare (Routledge, 2017). She is co-editor of the journal New  Political  Economy and the book series Global Political Economies of Gender and Sexuality (published by Rowman & Littlefield International).  

My research interests are in the area of feminist international political economy, where I have a particular focus on the gendered relations of finance, debt, development, and trade. I also research neoliberal and corporate-driven gender equality initiatives, namely in the areas of financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and trade. I am currently working in several areas:

(1)  Gendering Global Trade: Alongside Erin Hannah (King’s College, University of Western Ontario) and Silke Trommer (University of Manchester), I am working on two projects that focus on the gendered dimensions of trade and on initiatives that aim to address gender inequalities in and through trade. These are funded by SSHRC/ESRC (“Gendering Global Trade through Canada-UK Trade Relationships”) and SSHRC (“SheTrades: Gendering Global Trade Governance”). We have published two blogs based on preliminary research, which are available online at http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/2018/10/25/gender-sensitive-trade-buzzword-or-basic-principle-of-post-brexit-trade-policy/ and https://www.opencanada.org/features/can-gender-equality-give-wto-renewed-purpose/.

(2)  Gender, Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Promotion in Pakistan: Alongside Ghazal Mir Zulfiqar (LUMS), I have been researching and publishing on the gender dimensions of debt, everyday finance (including pawnbroking), financial inclusion strategies, and entrepreneurship promotion programmes in Pakistan. This research has been presented at a number of conferences and we have a forthcoming publication in Review of International Political Economy.

(3)  The Gendered Relations of Debt and Finance: Among other things, my research in this area seeks to document and theorize the growing importance of debt as a means for households to meet the costs of social reproduction historically and in the current era of financialization. This research has been published in journals that include Research in Political Economy, Critical Sociology, New Political Economy, Politics & Gender and more.

I have also published extensively on neoliberal and corporate-driven efforts to promote gender equality through financial inclusion strategies, ‘gender lens investing’, and other means (Soundings, Global Society, Socialist Studies) and on broader aspects of gender and the global economy (British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Antipode). Recent books focused on the field of Feminist International Political Economy include Feminist Global Political Economies of the Everyday (with Juanita Elias, Routledge, 2018) and Handbook of the International Political Economy of Gender (with Juanita Elias, Edward Elgar, 2018).

I am interested in supervising PhD students in a range of areas, particularly in the area of feminist international political economy. 

Current PhD Students:

Blanca Merino Casallo (September 2012 – present), “Politicians Acting For and Against Women: A study of the role of gender identities in shaping politicians’ propensity to promote gender equality in Spain 1930-present” (part-time)

Christian Scholz (September 2014 – present), “The intensification of political-economic restructuring in the EMU in times of crisis”

Aliki Koutlou (September 2017 – present), “Fabricating indebted Europeans: State, subjectivity and crisis in Spain and Greece”

Andrew Eggleston (September 2018 - present), "The Limits to UK Housing Policy: 2010-18"

Past PhD Students:

Simon Chin-Yee (September 2013 – June 2018), “Africa and the Global Climate Change Regime: Kenyan National Policy”

Ilias Alami (September 2014 –May 2018), “Post-crisis capital account policies in emerging capitalisms: regaining policy space? A comparison between Brazil and South Africa”

Caroline Metz (September 2015 –September 2018), “Why is the European Union relaunching asset-securitisation? The politics of capital markets union and financial disintermediation”