Rachael S. Pierotti

I am a Senior Social Scientist with the Africa Gender Innovation Lab at the World Bank. I lead the Lab’s research agenda on social norms and gender-based violence prevention, as well as the qualitative research team. Recently, I have been partnering with the Prevention Collaborative to promote a research and advocacy agenda focused on policy options for population-wide reductions in violence against women. 

My research seeks to understand the causes and consequences of gender differences in earnings, youth employment and transitions to adulthood, the allocation of household resources and labor, and property rights. I also investigate ways to effectively reduce violence against women and children and to promote more gender equitable social norms. Many of my studies are in-depth qualitative inquiries designed to complement quantitative impact evaluations of development programs or demographic survey research. I earned a PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan where I was a trainee at the Population Studies Center.