Laura Rawlings is an internationally recognized thought leader on international human development with over 30 years of experience leading projects and research on social protection, gender, early childhood development and behavioral incentives.

As Lead Economist in the World Bank, Laura led the development of the global 2024-30 Gender Strategy and spearheads analytical work and partnerships as part of the global effort to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. In her career, Laura has worked as the Lead Economist for the Human Capital Project, Team Leader of the World Bank’s Social Protection and Labor Strategy, Manager of the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF) and Sector Leader for Human Development in Central America. She has worked throughout Africa and Latin America and published numerous books and articles in the fields of evaluation and human development, including Impact Evaluation in Practice, a globally recognized sourcebook used by leading universities with close to a million downloads. She worked with Michael Bloomberg on poverty reduction programs in New York City, is a member of the Global Reference Group for Children Affected by Crisis and teaches as a professor in Georgetown University’s Global Human Development program.