Sharmila “Mona” Sinha is a globally recognized advocate for gender equality. She brings over 25 years of experience in strengthening mission-driven organizations to Equality Now. Aligning her passion for social justice and women’s empowerment with her early experience working in the corporate sector, she has enabled over 90 organizations to unlock the economic potential of and protect the legal rights of women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people.

Sinha is a passionate social change advocate and investor in women. Her vision is a world where women and girls have equal opportunity to thrive and the intersectionality of their lives is not just recognized but celebrated. She currently serves as global executive director of Equality Now, an organization whose mission is to ensure that all women the world over enjoy equal rights under the law, a vision she holds dearly and knows that the organization must achieve. In a world that is shifting away from this vision, Equality Now’s work is even more critical to ensure that women and their communities can thrive. She is deeply humbled to lead an extraordinary team to make legal and lived equality a reality.

With her deep understanding of the women’s rights ecosystem and an intentional focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Sinha has led and catalyzed over $1 billion to fund progressive projects, initiatives, and grassroots movements that elevate the economic agency of women and amplify women leaders on a global scale. Sinha serves on several nonprofit boards with a focus on governance, strategy, and sustainability. She is the board chair of Women Moving Millions and serves on the executive council of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, slated to be built on the Washington Mall within the decade. She is an advisory board member of Gucci CHIME and the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia University.

Formerly, Sinha chaired the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition’s Fund for Women’s Equality and is a trustee emerita (vice chair) of her alma mater, Smith College. In 2022, she was awarded the Smith College Medal in recognition of her bold feminist leadership in stewarding a trans-inclusive admissions policy and her critical role in fundraising $486 million for the school’s Women for the World campaign. She has served in various leadership capacities on the boards of Connected Women Leaders, Apne Aap, the Columbia Global Mental Health at Mailman Program in partnership with the World Health Organization, Breakthrough USA, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy.

As the founder of the Insight Circle Fund, she has facilitated meaningful partnerships and resources to uplift women and center marginalized communities. She also cofounded the Asian Women’s Leadership University College to bring the liberal arts education model to women across the region.

Sinha is the executive producer of the award-winning Netflix documentary Disclosure, which explores the representation of trans people in entertainment and premiered at Sundance in 2020. She is an executive producer of What the Constitution Means to Me, which was nominated for Best Play at the 73rd Tony Awards and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2019. She also produced Sell/Buy/Date and My Name Is Andrea, which premiered in 2022 at SXSW and the Tribeca Film Festival, respectively.

She’s received wide recognition for her work across sectors to advance equality and empower women leaders. In 2023, she was listed in Forbes’s 50 Over 50 for her impact as a leading force driving change for a better future. She’s the recipient of the 2023 Horton Award for Excellence in Social Enterprise from Columbia University and CARE USA’s 2021 Impact Award. She was presented with the Last Girl Champion Award by Gloria Steinem and Apne Aap in 2017 as well as the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which honors the accomplishments and service of US citizens, in 2015. She has also received awards from Children’s Hope India, Modern High School for Girls in Kolkata, Smith College, and Breakthrough USA and was named one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” by Women’s eNews.

Sinha graduated with a bachelor of arts in economics from Smith College, graduating magna cum laude and becoming a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She also earned a master of business administration in finance and marketing from Columbia University, where she made the Dean’s List and became a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.