Kelly Gerard
University of Western Australia
Rate Professor Kelly Gerard
Makes learning engaging and enjoyable.
Makes even hard topics easy to grasp.
Makes learning interactive and fun.
Creates a safe space for learning and growth.
Makes learning exciting and meaningful.
About Kelly
Kelly Gerard serves as Discipline Chair and Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations within the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia. Her research centers on the political economy of aid and development policy, with a particular emphasis on Southeast Asia, including gender equality, women's empowerment, and the dynamics of aid chains. Following postdoctoral training at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, and the Southeast Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, Gerard actively supervises doctoral students on topics such as international political economy, development, social movements, Southeast Asian politics, ASEAN, regionalism, and political participation.
She has been awarded the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award for 'Advancing Gender Equality Through Aid: Realising Women's Empowerment' ($365,103) and the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowship for 'Understanding the Reformed ASEAN' ($23,500). Notable publications include 'The political practices of gender experts: Repurposing women's empowerment' (2024, Globalizations), 'Doing aid chains differently: Evaluating the potential of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships' (2023, Development Policy Review), 'Valuing women’s empowerment: tracking funding in Southeast Asia' (2023, Review of International Political Economy, with Joshua McDonnell), 'Locating leverage: contesting “empowerment lite” from the lower rungs of an aid chain' (2022, International Feminist Journal of Politics), and 'Preserving Women’s Empowerment: Advocating for Feminist Participatory Action Research' (2026, Palgrave Macmillan). Gerard co-edits the 'Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy' series for Palgrave Macmillan with Toby Carroll. She has delivered the keynote address at the ASEAN Forum conference and contributes to public platforms including New Mandala, Disruptive Asia, The Mandarin, and East Asia Forum. Additionally, she coordinates units such as POLS2220 Foundations of Global Political Economy and leads funded projects on Australian aid and regional organizations.
Professional Email: kelly.gerard@uwa.edu.au