GRID Alumna, Dr. Khalida Malik (PhD in Sociology), will participate in the upcoming Illinois Global Institute Career Day on October 23rd. Dr. Malik is a consultant and Retired Program Officer with the UN World Food Program.
Dr. Kahlida Malik is an alumna of the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program (WGGP) and she is a retired program officer with the United Nations (UN) World Food Program (1995-2016) and also worked as a research specialist for the Institute of Development Studies at Agriculture University, Peshawar, Pakistan (1984-1994). Dr. Malik currently works as a consultant and does volunteer work.
Dr. Malik received her MA in political science from the University of Peshawar and earned her PhD in sociology with a specialization in rural sociology and a minor in gender relations in international development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She speaks English, Urdu, and Pushto. In terms of study abroad at UIUC, Dr. Malik was a graduate scholar in the Department of Sociology and a Thomas Jefferson Fellow (1988-1993).
Dr. Malik's professional focus was to save lives by providing humanitarian assistance (e.g., food and nutrition) to populations affected by natural disasters and other emergencies, as well as assisting in early recovery for building assets and livelihoods of vulnerable communities. Her mission also included working with partners for women's empowerment and social and economic equality through supporting girls' education; and engaging and promoting women's participation in food assistance for assets (FFA) activities.
As advice to students working on degrees in language, area, and thematic studies, Dr. Malik highlights that the ability to conduct research/assessments, monitoring and evaluation are critical areas which facilitate professional career development.