Draft:Anita Bhatia

Anita Bhatia (born 17 September 1960) is an Indian lawyer, development practitioner, and former United Nations official, who served as the Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations and the Deputy Executive Director at UN Women from 2019 to 2023. Bhatia specializes in strategic partnerships, external stakeholder management, fundraising, and organizational transformation.

Early life and education
Born in Kolkata, India, Anita Bhatia holds a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Calcutta, a master's degree in Political Science from Yale University, and a juris doctor from Georgetown University. She was the recipient of the James M. Cox Fellowship and Rotary International Foundation Fellowship.

Bhatia is fluent in English, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi.

The World Bank
Anita Bhatia joined the World Bank Group in 1987 and worked in all three of its entities – The World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). She worked in various capacities at regional and country-level headquarters in different regions including Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America.

From 2001-2003, Bhatia served as Principal Advisor to Carlos Kempff Bruno, Bolivia's Minister for Trade, and reported to the President's Executive Council on National Competitiveness. She worked with key stakeholders to build an investor-friendly country, focusing on investment and tax policies, and strategic sectors. Bhatia helped lead a consensus-based Productivity and Competitiveness Vision for the country, which became the guiding framework for the Bolivian government's agenda for private sector development.

As Principal Advisor of Bolivia's National Administrative Simplification Strategy, Bhatia led the creation of Bolivia's first online guide to administrative procedures, which enhanced transparency and reduced corruption.

International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Bhatia joined the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 2003 as General Manager of the Latin America Technical Assistance Facility in La Paz, Bolivia. Bhatia oversaw the creation of IFC's Advisory Services in Latin America, enabling the IFC to expand its footprint in new regional markets. During her tenure, IFC's Advisory Services grew to cover 11 countries in Latin America, and the funding for Advisory Services in Latin America tripled in three years.

In 2006, Bhatia was appointed by Lars H. Thunell, then CEO of the IFC, to the "Global Local 'Vision 2010'" Task Force. In conjunction with this role, Bhatia set up the IFC's first-ever change management office, the "Global Local" office in 2007. She supported the decentralization of the IFC which resulted in significant growth for the organization.

In 2010, Bhatia was appointed IFC's first-ever Global Head of Knowledge, overseeing knowledge management efforts in the Corporation. She was subsequently appointed Director of Partnerships and Advisory Services Operations in 2011. In this role, Bhatia developed and expanded partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders to support IFC strategy in critical areas, including fragile and conflict-affected states, gender equality, financial inclusion, extractive industry social commitments, support for women-owned businesses, and other priorities critical for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

United Nations and UN Women
On 30 May 2019, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Anita Bhatia as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director at UN Women. During her tenure, Bhatia was responsible for leading the expansion and deepening of UN Women's resource base and partnerships (governments, private sector, philanthropy), strategic planning, UN system coordination, gender parity efforts, improving the workplace, maximizing influence, and helping make the organization financially sustainable.

In this position, Bhatia provided strategic leadership in critical areas including external relationships. She expanded relationships with international financial institutions including the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), IFC, the African Development Bank, and others.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bhatia helped to convene Ministers of Finance, Gender and Development Cooperation together with The World Bank, EBRD, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to highlight the need for gender-based fiscal stimulus packages as part of the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. These efforts led to concrete collaboration between UN Women and IFIs through MOUs with EBRD and ADB to work together on new scalable joint programs as well as substantial financial and policy commitments as part of the Generation Equality Forum by The World Bank. Bhatia facilitated a collaboration with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which led to the development of the world's first Global Guidelines for Gender Bonds. This initiative was part of an overall strategy to replicate the success of ESG investing for gender-based investing.

Bhatia co-led the Task Force on SDG Financing (with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)), the Task Force on SDG 5 (with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)), and the Workstream on Outreach and Knowledge Sharing of the UN Chief Executive Board's Task Force on Addressing Sexual Harassment within the Organizations of the United Nations. She was appointed by the Chief of Staff to the UNSG Board of UN Staff College.

In 2021, Bhatia initiated the first Strategic Coordination Dialogue between UN Women and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to increase awareness of gender concerns in refugee populations.

Bhatia left UN Women in May 2023.

ImpactCommons and Board Memberships
Bhatia is a founder of ImpactCommons. Established in May 2023, it is a partnership with theDifference, a human-centered design firm. ImpactCommons is an advisory and consulting organization that supports organizations to scale up their impact through an SDG lens, using the power of strategic partnerships and networks of influence, as well as through strategic plans built through a process of co-creation, emphasis collaboration, and stakeholder management.

As of April 2024, Bhatia serves on The Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People. She also serves on the board of BancolSol, the world's first bank fully dedicated to bringing financial services to microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in Bolivia, and as an Advisor to Fasanara Capital, an asset management company based in London. As Global Advisor to Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), Bhatia supports SEWA's efforts to expand its partnership and advocacy efforts. She is also a member of auctusESG's Expert Advisory Board, a Mumbai-based firm that is passionate about accelerating global sustainable finance and the climate transition, and The Sanitation & Hygiene Fund's Board, a UNOPS-backed global financing mechanism that supports country-driven programs to bring sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) to all. Bhatia also supports the Kautilya School Of Public Policy in Hyderabad as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow, a state-of-the-art public policy institution that is nurturing the next generation of global leaders.

Personal life
Anita Bhatia is married to John L. Newman. They have two children, Leela Bhatia-Newman and Rohan Bhatia-Newman. Bhatia divides her time between Annapolis, MD, and New York City.

Publications
UN Women: Which Will Be The First Nation To Issue A Gender Bond?, The Independent, The Daily Trust (Nigeria), Nairobi Report, June 2021.

Why We Need Gender-Responsive Central Banking, Project Syndicate, April 2021.

How a Gender Lens Could Save National Economies from Pandemic Fallout, March 2021.

Empowering women leaders in post-Covid era with Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary, UNESCAP, Bangkok Post, March 2021.

We need more women leaders in the Asia-Pacific, with Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary, UNESCAP, South China Morning Post, March 2021.

A better normal for women and girls after COVID-19 with Bambang Susantono, Vice President, Asian Development Bank, The Daily Star, March 2021.

COVID-19 May Permanently Impede Women's Ability to Earn a Living, February 2021.

¿Dónde están los estímulos económicos para las mujeres en esta pandemia? (Where are the economic stimuli for women in this pandemic?), Washington Post, April 2020.

Contribution to "From Billions to Trillions," Document of the World Bank Group on FFD, 2015.

Contribution to "The Forward Look," World Bank Group Document for its capital increase.

Framework for Strategic Resource Mobilization for the World Bank Group Trust Fund Portfolio, Mimeo, Washington D.C., 2014.

A Global Knowledge and Thought Leadership Strategy for IFC, Mimeo, Washington D.C., 2010.

Strategy for Impact and Performance Improvements in IFC through BPI, Mimeo, Washington D.C., 2008.

Vision 2010 "Global Local" - A vision for IFC's strategy and development impact. Co-author, 2007.

Transparency in Extractive Industry Revenue Management, Mimeo, Lima, 2006.

Municipal Reform for Competitiveness, Mimeo, Lima, 2005.

Strategy for IFC Advisory Services in Latin America, Mimeo, La Paz, 2003.

Simplifying Business–Related Administrative Procedures in Bolivia, La Paz, July 2002.

An Analysis of the Trade and Business Environment in Bolivia, February 2001.

Microeconomic Constraints to Growth in Bolivia, Mimeo, World Bank, August 2001.

Constraints to Increasing FDI and Access to Markets in Bolivia, La Paz, July 2001.

Franchising as a Means of Private Sector Development, Mimeo, World Bank, 1998.

Sector Investment Programmes in Africa: A Review of Experience, Mimeo, World Bank, Programme for Special Assistance to Africa, 1997.

Privatization in Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Madagascar, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mimeo Series, World Bank, 1995 and 1996.

Improving the business climate in Mozambique, Mimeo, World Bank, 1996.

Insider Trading in South Africa: an analysis of the securities laws, Mimeo, World Bank, 1996.