Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of economics, Ashoka University
Image: Amit Verma
Unlike most economists, Ashwini Deshpande isn’t serious or staid. Instead, she’s cheery and bright-eyed as she appears on a Zoom screen, her crop of silver hair loosely pinned. She’s on a mid-term break from Ashok University where she serves as professor of economics.
She studies the economics of discrimination, that is, how do race, caste and gender affect economic outcomes. And unlike most economists, she doesn’t limit her work to academia, but puts it into practice.