Shakira Teh Sharifuddin joined the Bank in 2016 and is currently a senior economist with the People/ Human Development Vice Presidency at the World Bank Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Finance Hub in Kuala Lumpur, where she currently looks at issues related to female labor force participation, childcare provision, social protection, as well as issues related to education reform, learning loss and recovery, and adult skills assessment.
She was previously part of the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment global practice at the Bank where one of her main responsibilities is leading the publication of one of the Bank’s flagship reports, the bi-annual Malaysian Economic Monitor. Shakira has also been involved in various other work programs with the Malaysian government, including the public expenditure review (PER) and the flagship report on Malaysia’s aspiration to be a high-income country, Aiming High: Navigating the Next Stage of Malaysia’s Development.
Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Shakira worked as an economist at Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia) in the Monetary Policy Department. Shakira was also briefly attached at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C. Shakira obtained her Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University, New York. She is currently a part-time PhD candidate in sociology of education at the Institute of Education at the University College London (UCL), undertaking a qualitative study on meritocracy, class and elite schools. She is also a proud mom to 7-year-old autistic twin boys.