Simonetta Zarrilli is the chief of the Trade, Gender and Development Programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - UNCTAD, a programme she launched in 2010 and has been leading since. Under her leadership, the Programme provides analytical, policy and capacity-building support to member countries on the gender implications of trade policy. Simonetta has been a strong advocate for integrating gender perspectives into trade policy and for promoting women's economic empowerment as a key driver of sustainable development.

Prior to leading this work area, Ms. Zarrilli worked on several trade and development related issues and carried out numerous analytical, intergovernmental and technical cooperation activities on these topics.

In November 2023, Simonetta was conferred the “Gender Equality Pioneering Award” by the World Trade Organization.