Seema Jalan

Seema Jalan joined the Foundation as Deputy Director to lead Gender Equality Program Advocacy and Communications in November 2022. Previously, she served for a decade as the Executive Director of the Universal Access Project and Policy at the United Nations Foundation, a multi-stakeholder initiative of philanthropists, advocates and companies striving for a world where all people can realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Seema has more than 20 years of experience promoting gender equity and girls’ and women’s health and human rights globally. She co-created with partners a new philanthropic vehicle, the Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains; and served as a public member of the first U.S. delegation of the Biden Administration to the 65th Commission on the Status of Women. Seema previously led Women Thrive Worldwide’s global policy portfolio, where she was instrumental in contributing to the adoption of the first-ever U.S. government strategy to address violence against girls and women globally, announced by President Obama in 2012; and to USAID’s comprehensive gender policy. Seema has worked with the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction in Ethiopia, Women for Afghan Women and the United Nations. She supported U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney’s efforts to address the wage gap and gender inequity in the workplace. As an expert on gender equity and sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, Seema has been quoted in top-tier media outlets including Slate, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and Vice.; and has provided commentary on these topics in Medium, The Huffington Post, CNN, Forbes and The Hill.