Devaki Jain has lectured in economics at Delhi University and was a founding member of the Indian Association of Women's Studies. She advised the National Commission on Women of the Government of India and was a member of Julius Nyerere's South Commission. Her academic research and advocacy, influenced largely by Gandhian philosophy, have focused on issues of women's rights, democratic decentralization, and people-centered development. Devaki Jain lives in Bangalore, India.