Diya Padiyar

Diya Paresh Padiyar is a researcher in Gender Studies and English at Lancaster University, with research interests spanning trans and non-binary healthcare, reproductive justice, migration, gender, and health inequalities. Originally from Goa, India, she holds a BA in English from Goa University, where she graduated as Valedictorian, and recently completed her MA in Gender Studies and English at Lancaster University, where she was also a recipient of the Lancaster Award. Her MA dissertation, Pregnancy Beyond the Binary: Trans and Non-Binary Migrant Experiences of UK Maternity Healthcare, explores how migration status, race and gender identity intersect to shape trans and non-binary migrants’ experiences and expectations of pregnancy and maternity care in the UK. Drawing on qualitative interviews and frameworks of reproductive justice, intersectionality and situated knowledges, the research examines barriers to care, cisnormative healthcare structures, and how individuals anticipate and navigate reproductive healthcare systems. Alongside her postgraduate research, Diya is contributing to a clinical research project examining the assessment and management of abnormal vaginal bleeding among trans men and non-binary people assigned female at birth who use gender-affirming testosterone. Her work includes evidence synthesis and contributing to a scoping review of existing clinical literature. Diya is particularly interested in interdisciplinary, community-informed and advocacy-oriented approaches to trans healthcare, reproductive health and migrant experiences, and in bridging social-science research with clinical practice and policy. Her forthcoming contribution, “Advocacy”, to the Encyclopedia of Queer Media reflects her wider interest in queer media, representation and advocacy. She has presented her research across academic and public-facing settings, with her dissertation research awarded Third Place at Lancaster University’s Postgraduate Research Conference in 2026. At BAGIS, Diya will present findings from this research, bringing an intersectional reproductive justice perspective to conversations around inclusive reproductive and maternity healthcare.