Leonora Risse

Bio

Dr Leonora Risse is an economist who specialises in gender equality. Her research focuses on gender gaps in the workforce, including the gender pay gap and women’s under-representation in leadership and decision-making.

Dr Risse regularly engages with governments and organisations on evidence-based policies to close gender gaps and how to apply a gender lens to economic analysis and policy design through gender responsive budgeting. She created the Gender Equality Evidence Hub as a platform to translate academic research on gender equality into practical actions, available at https://genderequality.com.au

Currently Dr Risse is an Associate Professor in Economics at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and Adjunct Professor with the QUT Centre of Decent Work and Industry, and a Research Fellow with the Women's Leadership Institute Australia. She serves as an Expert Panel Member on gender pay equity for the Fair Work Commission, an Expert Panel Member for the Parliamentary Budget Office, and a Steering Committee Member on the Gender Economic Equality Study for Jobs and Skills Australia.

Dr Risse brings public policy experience having previously served as a Senior Research Economist at the Australian Government Productivity Commission. She spent time in residence at Harvard University, where she was a Research Fellow with the Women and Public Policy Program in the Kennedy School of Government. She was previously a Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at RMIT University and led the Pathways to Politics for Women program at the University of Canberra. She earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Queensland. The topic of her PhD thesis was the provision of paid maternity leave in Australia.

Passionate about elevating the representation and recognition of women in the economics profession, Dr Risse is a co-founder of the Women in Economics Network (WEN) in Australia and served as WEN’s National Chair. She is part of the team who created the annual Australian Gender Economics Workshop (AGEW).

In 2021 Dr Risse was named as one of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy. In 2025 she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia for exceptional and sustained contributions to women in economics and the Society.

Her economic expertise extends to labour markets, disadvantage and inequality, and she contributes regularly to Australian media to empower everyday audiences with a greater understanding of general economic issues.

Further information about Dr Risse’s research, teaching and policy contributions is available on her website https://leonorarisse.com