I’m a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. My research examines the low participation of women in routine politics, focusing on how women’s labor force participation can shape patterns of everyday political engagement.

Empirically, my work focuses on the Global South, with an emphasis on South Asia. I employ a mixed-methods approach, combining in-depth fieldwork and interviews with original surveys and experiments. These primary data sources are complemented by administrative records and secondary datasets, enabling me to examine both broader structural patterns and micro-foundations.

My research has been generously funded by CASI, UPIASI, J-PAL’s Governance Initiative and Survey CTO. I am an affiliate of the Penn Development Research Initiative-DevLab and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India.

Prior to pursuing a Ph.D., I worked at J-PAL South Asia and Inclusion Economics India. I received an M.A in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Macalester College. I am also an alum of the United World Colleges.

You can find my CV here and contact me at rashis@sas.upenn.edu