Veena Mazumdar

Pioneering Indian feminist economist who revolutionized women's studies in South Asia

Born in 1927, Veena Mazumdar became the first woman to head the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Her groundbreaking 1974 report "Towards Equality" exposed systemic gender discrimination in post-independence India, revealing shocking statistics about declining female workforce participation.

Mazumdar established the Centre for Women's Development Studies in 1980, creating new frameworks for analyzing women's economic contributions. She pioneered the concept of "invisible labor" in agrarian economies, fundamentally changing how development policies addressed rural women.

Her most controversial intervention came during the 1990s economic reforms, where she documented how globalization disproportionately affected women in informal sectors. Mazumdar's work directly influenced India's National Policy for Women and constitutional amendments for gender equality.