Diane Elson is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, UK. She has been Visiting Professor at Carleton, Ruhr and Rutgers Universities. She is a former Vice-President of the International Association for Feminist Economics, and has published widely on gender and development.

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr is Professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York, USA. She was Director of UNDP Human Development Reports 1995-2004 and has published widely on human development and human rights.

Polly Vizard is Research Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE), London School of Economics, UK. Her research interests include poverty, equality and inequality, human rights and the capability approach. Her recent work includes commissioned research for the British Equality and Human Rights Commission, and research on public attitudes towards rights.