Lucia Mary Mbithi is a senior Lecturer at the School of Economics, University of Nairobi. She has over 18 years of experience in quantitative and qualitative trade policy analysis and regional integration. Her work also includes areas of gender and development, gender gaps analysis, costing and policy linkages; gender and development, gender strategy development, mainstreaming gender in economic programming, gender, trade and development, gender and cross-border trade. She has undertaken policy analysis work to provide technical assistance to Governments of Kenya, EAC and COMESA countries. She has also provided technical assistance through preparation of technical reports to EAC Secretariat, East African Business Council, East African Women in Business Platforms, among others. She has also undertaken assignments for private sector including for Kenya association of Manufacturers, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, and East African business Council; and civil society including Institute of Economic affairs. She has also undertaken work to influence donor programming in Kenya including work for World Bank, DFID, UNDP, UN, UNECA, African Development Bank and TradeMark East Africa (TMEA). She has published several Peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, working papers and technical papers.