Samanthi J. Gunawardana is a Senior Lecturer in Gender and Development in the School of Social Science in the Faculty of Arts.

From 2013-2022, Samanthi was the Course Director for the Master of International Development Practice. She was a Steering Committee member of the Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre (2016-2023) and is on the Steering Committee of the Monash Global Peace and Security Centre. 

She has a PhD in Economics and Commerce from The University of Melbourne. Prior to joining Monash University, she was a Lecturer in Employment Relations at Griffith University, and an Instructor in Labour Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Samanthi was the 2009-2010 Visiting Professor of International Studies at Trinity College in Connecticut, and in 2006 she was a Visiting International Fellow at Cornell University.

Samanthi’s research examines the impact of development policy on employment systems, labour, and livelihoods among rural women in South Asia, particularly emphasising gender, labour, and the impact of conflict in Sri Lanka. Key topics explored include export processing zone employment systems, agrarian labour, the impact of conflict, freedom of association, labour organizing, labour migration, microfinance and debt, entrepreneurship, and connections between the political economy of households and development policy. Her current research examines the possibilities for decentering and decolonising cross-border partnerships, alliances, and collaborations.