Influential Woman · Multilateral organizations and international development

Margarida Rodrigues

Graduate Fellow, Center for International Affairs and World Cultures

Boston, MA

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Brown University Degree Economics (undergraduate) Degree Master's in Economics Degree Belgium Degree PhD in Political Science Degree Northeastern University (in progress Degree Since 2021)

Her Story

About Margarida

I'm currently a PhD candidate at Northeastern University, where I've been since 2021, pursuing my doctorate in political science with a focus on multilateral organizations and international development. I'm in the dissertation writing stage now, having completed all my coursework and assignments. My days are spent researching and writing my dissertation, which includes morning writing sessions, followed by afternoon data collection and analysis, conducting interviews, and meeting weekly with my committee to show my progress. Throughout the program, I've also taught classes three times a week to undergraduate students and worked as a research assistant helping professors with their research. Before entering the PhD program, I worked at the World Bank for approximately 5 and a half years in the Global Financing Facility, a fund managed by the World Bank in partnership with other donors and development agencies to provide health for mothers and infants in developing countries. One of my most significant professional achievements was leading a team of 5 people in Mozambique to conduct a detailed study for the health authorities on the cost of non-clinical services at public hospitals, where we identified areas to free up resources for clinical services and found some providers charging more for the same services, which we presented to the country's health authorities.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Margarida

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think it's a mix of things, certainly hard work and integrity. I always try to do a good job, and I believe the way you finish a project is just as important as when you start it. Even if you're moving on to another role or another team, I try to always finish on a good note, do a good job, and leave a good impression. That's been really important because in my sector and industry, work wasn't always stable, so I had to kind of secure the next contract. Sometimes people you've worked with 2 years ago, if they have a good impression of you, they might think of you for something. So I think that's a factor, and then of course some luck and some help from other people.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

When I was starting out as a junior professional, the best career advice was to try a lot of different things, but also to find the people that I wanted to work with. Sometimes it's more important to pick the people over the project. Even if a project seems very interesting on paper, especially when you're starting out, it's perhaps better to go with a project that might be potentially less aligned, or maybe at first seem less interesting to you, but will have people that will give you mentorship from whom you can learn. I think that was good advice.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I think the empathy that women tend to have can be a strength. But women should be careful about taking up a lot of the invisible labor and emotional labor of planning all the events, making sure that everyone is doing well, being so attuned to other people's feelings and how everyone is doing. I don't think I would advise not doing those things, but being aware is a good step to identify when it's happening, and know when you need to maybe put that aside a little bit.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

Challenges in academia are, of course, limited funding. AI is also a challenge, but I think it can be an opportunity too. We really need to understand what our value as researchers is compared to AI. There's a lot of tasks that researchers used to do that now AI can do. That doesn't have to be a threat, it can be an opportunity. But in the meantime, it can be a little bit tough to understand where your value lies.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I would say integrity is very important. I would say inclusion is also very important, especially working in international development. And open-mindedness.

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