Ritheka Sundar

Ritheka Sundar holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Stella Maris College in Chennai. She aims to contribute towards building an empathetic society, with reduced poverty, so that people from marginalised social and economic backgrounds have an increased access to better opportunities and subsequently, a better life.

While performing research for a course in Agricultural Economics, she learned that women farmers are more constrained by the lack of access to land, technology, and financial resources.

In this light, she is specifically interested in analysing gender-based income inequalities within the agricultural labour market in India while also considering the effect the current trends in climate change can have on the target population. As one of the nine students chosen from her college to pursue the Millennium Fellowship in
2021, hosted by MCN and United Nations Academic Impact, she undertook a project on financial literacy to demystify personal banking and finance for college students in Chennai.

Ritheka has worked as a Senior Research Associate with The Parley Project, a youth-led organisation called where she has spearheaded the Prep with Parley Initiative that aims to improve students’ access to information related to graduate admissions process. She is currently a mentor at Project EduAccess, a non-profit initiative that aims to improve access to higher education for learners from marginalised communities in South Asia. Working with Bhumi, she volunteered as a mentor to engage students creatively and teach them about preserving the environment.

As a first generation student, she is deeply grateful for the support offered by the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD). Here, she aims to refine her research and work closely with the other scholars.