Mallika Dutt

Mallika Dutt is the Program Director of Gender Equity and Governance at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Mallika is a longtime advocate for gender equity with deep experience in advancing justice through an intersectional lens. She leads grantmaking to expand women’s reproductive and economic choices, increase government’s responsiveness to the people they serve, and improve policymaking through effective use of evidence.

As the founder and leader of Breakthrough, she has championed culture change through narrative strategy, storytelling, and movement building to promote the rights of marginalized communities. Prior to joining the foundation, she founded and led INTER-CONNECTED, where she served as a trusted advisor to nonprofits and philanthropies focusing on organizational sustainability, leadership development, well-being, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Mallika also headed a South Asia social justice and human rights program with the Ford Foundation where she forged local and global partnerships to advance gender equity, good governance, and human rights. A recipient of multiple awards, she received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2016.

Mallika is a graduate of NYU Law School and Columbia University’s School of International Affairs. She also received an Honorary Doctorate from her undergraduate college, Mount Holyoke. Mallika has served on several boards and committees and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.