Leo O. Igbanoi

I am a sociologist, development practitioner, and parliamentary researcher with relevant experience in social sectoral analyses of government policies, and their implications for equitable development outcomes. With research interests in gender and social policymaking, masculinities, race, the black middle class, and African migration, I have been part of several collaborations on gender and social inclusion with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and the MacArthur Foundation. I am co-author of the book "Does the Black Middleclass Exist and Are We Members: Reflections from a Research Team" (2020), have published papers in several academic journals including 'Fighting to be a Real Man: Respectability and Contestations among African Migrant Men in Johannesburg' (2024), and have presented my work at several local and international conferences. Passionate about student learning and mentorship, I have also taught courses in Sociology and Gender at the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand. My work is largely informed by qualitative and intersectional methodologies.