PROFILE
 

PhD, University of Cambridge

Claire Somerville joined the Geneva Graduate Institute in 2012 and has taught courses on gender, global health, qualitative and mixed methods approaches to research, and applied research in environment and sustainability, gender, race, and diversity.

Claire studied anthropology at the University of Sussex, SOAS, and completed her doctoral research at St John’s College, University of Cambridge before going on to post-doctoral research and teaching at the University of Newcastle, Australia; Queen Mary, London; and, Trinity College Dublin. 

Her research critically examines the circulation and transformations of knowledge(s) between global processes and local contexts bridging theory, policy, and practice in gender, health, and digitalization.

Research grants and projects include studies on diagnostic taxonomies, risk and body politics; the double burden of disease in Mozambique, Nepal and Peru; unmet health needs of LGBTQ communities, and the rise of non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, she has developed research and pedagogical activities on digital gender gaps and the role of applied research and navigating policy-world decision-making.

Claire serves on the Policy and Practice Committee of the Royal Anthropology Institute and numerous advisory and expert groups on gender and health across the UN and International Organizations.

THEMATIC EXPERTISE
 

• Gender & public policies
• Global health diplomacy, global health governance
• Multilateral diplomacy, international negotiations
• Digital technologies
• Intersectional inequalities & emancipation
• Human rights
• International organisations, UN
• Colonialism, decolonisation & postcolonialism
• Development, cooperation, aid policies
• History of science
  
   

GEOGRAPHICAL EXPERTISE
 

• Kenya
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• South Africa
• Peru
• Bangladesh
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Ireland
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Switzerland
  
   

OFFICE HOURS
 

Mardi | Tuesday 12:00-14:00

Recent PUBLICATIONS
 

• Somerville, C. 2022. Gendered Institutions in Global Health. In Women and Global Health Leadership (pp. 19-29). Springer, Cham.
• Somerville, C. & Pesantes, A. 2022. SDG 5: Long and Short History of the Journey to Gender Equality. Gutmann, M., & Gorman, D. (Eds.). Before the UN Sustainable Development Goals: A Historical Companion. Oxford University Press.
• Handkivsky, O., Somerville, C Mandahar, M. 2022. Prioritizing non-communicable diseases at the intersections: global action in the Canadian context. (Eds.) Morrow, M., Hankivsky, O., Varcoe, C. Women’s Health Canada. University of Toronto Press.
• Triulzi, I., Somerville, C., Sangwani, S., et al. 2022. Understanding the meanings of male partner support in the adherence to therapy among HIV-positive women: a gender analysis. Global Health Action, 15(1), 2051223.
• Saxena, A., Lasher, E., Somerville, C., & Heidari, S. 2022. Considerations of sex and gender dimensions by research ethics committees: a scoping review. International Health.
• Somerville, C., & Munguambe, K. 2021. The rise of non-communicable disease (NCDs) in Mozambique: decolonising gender and global health. Gender & Development, 29(1), 189-206.