About Me

Leela Fernandes is a political scientist who has written widely about inequality and change . She has published numerous books and articles on inequality  and democratic politics in contemporary India and on contemporary feminism in the U.S and internationally. Her latest book is Governing Water in India:  Inequality, Reform and the State  (University of Washington Press,  2022). She taught for three decades at the University of Michigan as the Glenda Dickerson Collegiate Professor of Women’s Studies, Rutgers University , The University of Washington and Oberlin College. At Michigan she served as the Director of the Center for South Asian Studies and was a senior fellow at the Michigan Society of Fellows and at the University of Washington she served as the Director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.

I have researched questions of social and economic inequality and change. Given the challenges of climate change and deepening inequality, global problems require both local contextual solutions and effective governance. I offer consultancy services to NGOs and governments interested in practical and effective change.

I spent close to three decades in major public universities. I have both experienced and worked on fixing a range of institutional problems: budget deficits, curricular changes, abuses of power by Deans and faculty and generational conflicts. I have also served as an external consultant for academic units in various institutions. I offer consultancy  services for both organizations, academic departments and individuals