Wednesday 9 September 2026
3.00–4.30 p.m (Irish Standard Time)
Museum Building, Trinity College Dublin
Hosted by the Department of Geography at Trinity College Dublin, co convened with the Development Studies Association Ireland and the World Bank Group.
Dr Robin Mearns, the World Bank Group's Director for Gender, joins us for an afternoon of knowledge exchange on gender, space, and development. Robin will open with a brief reflection on his own journey from studying geography and development to leading the World Bank Group's gender agenda, before turning to the substantive focus of the session, the WBG's gender research, strategy, and impact, including its gender targets and the connection between gender equality and the jobs agenda. Two short research inputs and a facilitated discussion will follow.
Speaker
Dr Robin Mearns is the World Bank Group's Director for Gender, with a doctorate in Geography from the University of Cambridge and a career spanning social development, climate resilience, and poverty research.
Research inputs
Dr Nita Mishra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick. Her research interests include women's empowerment processes, and arts-based research methodologies.
Dr Tara McIndoe-Calder is a Senior Research Officer at the ESRI working on household income, wealth, and inequality, and Chair of the Irish Society for Women in Economics.
Chair
Dr Tara Bedi is an Assistant Professor in Development Practice in the Department of Geography at Trinity College Dublin, working on gender, climate change, and social protection.
Spaces are limited.