Sarah Goulding

Assistant Secretary and Principal Specialist Gender Equality, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia

Sarah Goulding is Australia’s Principal Specialist for Gender Equality. She oversees Australia’s international strategy, engagement and international development on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Most recently she has led work on Global Development, overseeing Australia’s multilateral finance engagement in health, education, climate and environment funds. She oversaw Australia’s first voluntary national review on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Previously she has held the position of Senior Specialist Gender Equality, strengthening Australia’s focus on women in leadership, women’s economic empowerment and ending violence against women and girls through Australia’s aid programming.

Ms Goulding joined the Department of Foreign Affairs portfolio in 2003. She has worked in a range of policy and programme portfolios and has overseen country and regional Australian Aid programmes in the Asia-Pacific in a broad range of sectors, including health, education, private sector development and economic reform. She served in Suva as the head of Australia’s aid program to Fiji and Tuvalu, and on the board of Tuvalu’s sovereign wealth fund.

Ms Goulding is a graduate from Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide University and University of South Australia.