She is Chief of the Gender Equity Thematic Group, responsible for overseeing and providing advice on ADB-wide operations in support of gender equality and women’s empowerment. She facilitates knowledge management on gender and development in ADB and coordinates gender mainstreaming initiatives across different departments and through different sector and thematic groups.
Sonomi has worked on gender and development, poverty reduction, social analysis, social protection, and community participation issues in Asia and the Pacific for nearly 20 years. She has covered a number of sectors including education, finance, health, infrastructure, natural resources management, public sector management, and urban development.
Prior to working with ADB, Sonomi worked in the World Bank’s South Asia Department and in development institutions in Japan.
She holds a Master of Arts on Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University and a post-graduate diploma on development studies from the Institute of Developing Economies Advanced School in Japan. She has a bachelor’s degree on International Relations from the University of Tokyo.