G5+ - GENDER FIVE PLUS
EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
AGNÉS HUBERT
Agnes Hubert is a recognised European expert on gender policy making. She was in charge of the EU gender equality policy in the nineties and continued to work on gender issues for the European Commission as a member of the in house think tank (currently IDEA) She is currently a professor at the College of Europe, affiliate researcher at Science Po - PRESAGE founding member of the first European feminist think tank Gender5plus and member of the Haut Conseil de l’Egalité in France.
She graduated in Economics and in Political Science at the University of Paris 1 . She started her professional life as a journalist before joining the European Commission where she has held responsibilities in Development & cooperation (international commodity agreements), information & communication (information Europe – 1/3 world) and social & employment policy .
She joined the Forward Studies Unit in the late nineties, was part of the small team in charge of the White paper on European Governance, then seconded for 2 years to the women’s rights committee of the European Parliament and came back to the Commission’s Think tank (the Bureau of European Policy advisers).
She is the author of three books (“L'Europe et les femmes, identités en mouvement”, ed. Apogée 1998, “Democracy and Information Society in Europe”, in Forward Studies series – Kogan page 1999, “The European Union and Gender equality” Ed. FEPS/DIETZ 2022) , two major European Commission documents on social innovation (“Empowering people, driving change: Social innovation in the European Union” 2010 and “Social innovation a decade of changes” 2014) and of a number of articles, chapters and academic contributions in the field of gender equality and of social innovation in Europe.
She has developed and taught seminars on “EU and Gender” at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy (Tufts University, Mass. USA) , at the Center for Political and Constitutional Studies in Madrid and in Science po Paris.
BARBARA HELFFERICH
Barbara Helfferich has over 20 years of experience in European policy making. As Secretary General of the European Women’s Lobby she successfully helped to establish one of the biggest and most influential European NGOs in Brussels. In 1992, the European Commission recruited her to become member of cabinet of the European Social Affairs Commissioner, a post which she held for five years until she was appointed European spokesperson for the environment. In 2013, she was appointed Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network. In 2016 she became an independent consultant on gender policies. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University as well as a Master’s degree in journalism and international communications.
JOANNA TACHMINTZIS
Joanna Tachmintzis is an environmental scientist, who has been active in promoting women’s rights since the late ’70s. Her main career has been as policy maker in the European Commission, occupying several posts as Head of Unit as well as serving in a Commissioner’s Cabinet in the Santer Commission and as a Commissioner’s Deputy Head of Cabinet in the Prodi Commission. In this context, she participated in the work of the Equality Group of Commissioners and of other committees. In parallel to her career, Joanna participated actively in the second World Conference on Women in 1980 in Copenhagen, and in 1981 was the co-founder of the Brussels-based Centre for Research on European Women (CREW), as well as other NGOs in later years. Joanna is currently pursuing her interests as a photographer and film producer, in addition to her NGO work.
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CINZIA SECHI
MARIA STRATIGAKI
Maria Stratigaki is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Policy of Panteion University in Athens. Her research interests are gender equality policies, gender-based violence and gender in migration.
She was appointed Deputy Mayor for Social Solidarity, Welfare and Equality in the City of Athens (2014-2019) after she was elected City Councilor.
She served as General Secretary for Gender Equality (2009-2012) and worked at the European Commission (1991-1999).
She was scientific coordinator of EU funded FP7 research projects:
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GeMIC (Gender, Migration and Intercultural Interaction in the South-East Europe) (2008-2011) and
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MIG@NET (Migration, Gender and Digital Networks) (2009-2013).
She has published in Social Politics, the European Journal of Women’s Studies and Femina Politica. She is the author of the books: The Gender of Social Policy (2007) and Gender Equality Policies: UN, EU, Greece (2021).
She is President of the Greek Society of Women University Professors.
MARIE JOUFFE
A lawyer by training, Marie Jouffe has specialised in social issues. Most of her professional career has been spent in the French social security system, mainly as director at national level for human resources and collective bargaining. Here she continuously promoted equal rights between women and men at work. In the 90s she worked for the European Commission in Brussels as an expert in the Equal Opportunities Unit, with a focus on social policies and on the mainstreaming of equality issues in European policies. Back in Paris, she headed the representation office of the French social security in Brussels. She is now retired but is pursuing her activities as a volunteer in the field of equality within Gender 5+ and in a French NGO focussing on intergenerational issues.
ALAZNE IRIGOIEN
Alazne Irigoien is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of the Basque Country. She teaches in the Gender Studies Masters of the University of the Basque Country and University Jaume I "Law, equality and discrimination". After graduating in Law and Political Science at the Autonomous University of Madrid, she has worked in Human Rights organisations and social enterprises focused on gender equality and women empowerment. She found her passion for feminism and gender equality working for the United Nations (UN) in Switzerland as a legal consultant, where she contributed to the work of CEDAW, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women through OHCHR, the UN’s principal body on Human Rights. Currently, her Ph.D. research focuses on gender stereotypes and feminist philosophy of law. She has been working with G5+ on its parity democracy campaign and has authored the report “European Parliament’s elections 2019: towards parity democracy in Europe”.
MARY COLLINS
Cinzia Sechi holds over 20 years of experience in EU affairs and currently works as policy officer in the European Commission (EESC).
She previously worked as Senior Policy Advisor at the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), where she was responsible for the EU social dialogue, gender equality and the ETUC women’s Committee, migration, vocational education and training and coordinated related ETUC activities in these fields.
Prior to working at the ETUC, she worked as policy analyst and expert for the EESC as Member of President’s Cabinet and various civil society organisations (e.g. Social Development Agency), public bodies (e.g. Italia Lavoro) and universities (e.g. College of Bruges).
Ms Sechi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences from Sassari University and a Master’s Degree in European Employment Relations from Milano Statale University.
Mary Collins is an expert in Economic and Social Policies. Mary has worked in child protection for the Health Authority in Ireland and for the European Federation of Organisations working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) in Brussels.
Mary joined the EWL in 1995 to coordinate the organisation’s representation and active participation at the Fourth World Conference for Women which took place in Beijing in 1995 and produced the Beijing Platform for Action. Over the last 15 years, Mary has worked on a variety of issues, including violence against women, EU asylum and human rights policies, the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on Disabled Persons.
COMMUNICATION OFFICER
RESEARCHER
Dimitra Irene Kolovou is a Greek national and she has recently completed her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History in Panteion University. She lived one year in Portugal where she had studied in Universidade Nova de Lisboa through the Erasmus Student Exchange Program. Dimitra, also worked on the Press and Communication Office of the Embassy of Greece in Portugal, as well as the assistant of the First Councelor of the Embassy. She hopes to specialize in Human Rights and especially in Gender Studies.
Dimitra is the Communication Officer of Gender 5 Plus. She is, also, working on the Lifelong Learning Center of Panteion University as an Administrative Assistant, organizing Educational Projects orientated in gender equality.
Victoire Olczak is a French national, currently enrolled in the Human Rights and Humanitarian Action Master of Sciences Po Paris after completing a Bachelor’s in International Relations. Throughout her academic studies and by joining various students’ associations during her undergraduate, Victoire has gradually taken an interest in gender studies and European affairs. Working in both the academic, associative, and institutional environment, she has gained a diverse approach to gender equality issues and now intends to work mainly on the gender mainstreaming of EU politics. She masters French, English as well as Spanish thanks to an exchange semester in Montevideo.
HONORARY MEMBERS
Eva Eberhardt has been an active feminist for over 40 years. Born in Hungary, she has lived and worked in many European countries. She has worked for the Equal Opportunities Unit of the EU Commission and has been involved with a number of EU programmes, working as an evaluator of the EU's Daphne programme and gender expert on the EU-China enterprise programme. At the same time, Eva has been active within many UK and EU women NGOs and was one of the founding members of the European Women's Lobby. Currently, although retired, she is continuing her activities for gender equality through being involved with NGOs like G5 at international level.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Ruth Rubio Marín is Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Sevilla and member of the Faculty of The Hauser Global Law School Program at New York University. Professor Rubio has taught at several other prestigious academic institutions, including the European University Institute in Florence, Columbia Law School and Princeton University, where she was selected as a Fellow for the Program in Law and Public Affairs in 2000. Her research attempts to understand how public law creates categories of inclusion and exclusion around different axes including gender, citizenship, nationality and ethnicity. Professor Rubio is the author of over 40 articles and author, editor or co-editor of 8 books. She is currently working on a monograph for CUP entitled Gender Constitutionalism in the New Millennium: Towards the Disestablishment of the Gender Order. As a consultant and activist Prof. Rubio has worked for several institutions and agencies within the UN and EU as well as with several NGOs including the International Center for Transitional Justice. Recently, she has been invited to deliver the 2019 Gruber Distinguished Lecture on Women's Human Rights at Yale Law School.
Jane Jenson is a Professor of Political Science emerita at the Université de Montréal and an Associate Fellow in the Successful Societies Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). She has been a Visiting Professor at a number of European universities (including Université libre de Bruxelles, European University Institute, Freie Universität Berlin) as well as in New Zealand and at Harvard University. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1989 and a Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation from 2005 to 2008. Her current research interests and publications cover a wide spectrum of topics touching on social citizenship, including social investment, social innovation, and social rights. She has published frequently both on the changing gendering consequences of public policies and on the role of women’s movements in making claims for gender equality, in Canada, the European Union and Latin America. She publishes frequently in scholarly journals in English and French and is actively involved in advising policy communities in Canada and the EU.
Mieke Verloo is Professor of Comparative Politics and Inequality Issues at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and Non-Residential Permanent Fellow at the IWM, Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. She is the winner of the 2015 ECPG Gender and Politics Career Achievement Award. She was scientific director of large research projects on gender equality policymaking in Europe (seewww.mageeq.net and www.quing.eu). She has extensive consultancy and training experience on gender mainstreaming and intersectionality for several European governments and institutions. Her research is on feminist politics and opposition to gender+ equality in Europe. Her edited volume on Varieties of opposition to gender equality in Europe will be published by Routledge early 2018. Her recent work is on the complex relationship of democracy and gender+ equality.
Joyce Marie Mushaben received her Ph. D. from Indiana University & serves as a Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Comparative Politics; also former Director of the Institute for Women's & Gender Studies. Having spent more than 17 years living/researching in Germany, her early work centered on social movements (peace, ecology, feminism, anti-nuclear protests and neo-Nazi activism). She moved on to European Union developments, citizenship and migration policies, women’s leadership, Euro-Islam debates and comparative welfare state reforms. She has written several books and articles ans has secured numerous national and international grants, including but not limited fellowships from the Ford Foundation and the Fulbright Foundation. In 1999 she received a Trailblazer Award for advancing women's rights, then the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research Creativity in 2007. In 2016 she was designated the College of Arts & Sciences first interdisciplinary Professor of Global Studies. .
Prof. Dr. Teresa Freixes is Professor of Constitutional Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) since 1993 and Jean Monnet Chair since 2003, ad personam since 2008. Since 1994, her involvement in the European Commission has included participation in the elaboration of the Amsterdam Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Constitution and the Lisbon Treaty, and of the Council of Europe since 1997. Since 2010, she has also been a member of the Royal Academy of Doctors. She has been Senior Expert of FRANET (Fundamental Rights Agency) and the European Institute for Gender Equality, Legal Experts Group (2005-2014), and the Principal Investigator in several projects of R+D+I, European Programs and high level working groups. She is a visiting teacher in different universities in Europe and America, and a member of several Scientific Councils and Observatories. Throughout her career she has actively participated in discussions in the media and on social networks. She has published a dozen books and contributed over 100 articles and chapters to her field.
Gabriele Bischoff, (MEP) was elected Member of the European Parliament for the Socialists and Democrats Group in May 2019. She serves as Vice-Chair of the Committee for Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and as full member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and Substitute of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). She has been a special advisor at the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB), having joined the trade unions about 30 years ago while working part-time as an express delivery worker for the German Post to finance her studies in Berlin. Gabriele Bischoff began her working career at the Berlin Institute for Social Research and subsequently worked at the FHW Berlin School of Economics as a researcher. In 1990, she started to work full-time at IG Metall Germany as a senior advisor for equality. She became Head of Department and was an active member of the EMF and the ETUC Women's Committees. In 2000, she worked at the Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU as a social attaché in Brussels, where she was responsible for European social dialogue. After that, she worked as a senior advisor for the EU Presidency in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Germany. Between 2008-2014, she was Head of the European Policy Department at the Federal Executive of DGB. Gabriele Bischoff had been the President of the Workers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee from 2015 until 2019. She is vice-president of the Europa Union Deutschland and a board member of SPD-queer in Berlin.
Gabriele Bischoff studied Political Science at the Universities of Marburg and Berlin and holds a diploma in political science from the Free University of Berlin.
ORDINARY MEMBERS
INTERNS
Isha Corcoran is a French and British national, currently living in Montreal where she has recently completed a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science. Throughout her time at university she developed an increasing interest in Gender Studies and was immersed in the world of academic feminism. She plans on pursuing her studies in order to specialize in her two main areas of interest: the politics of gender, and the European Union. Isha also has work experience in the fundraising industry, and has closely collaborated with major NGOs over the past two years in order to raise regular donations and promote humanitarian aid.
Zoé Roth-Ogier is franco-german and is currently also working in Paris for Osez le Féminisme ! She graduated from McGill University in International Development and Gender Studies. Her undergraduate degree has allowed her to carry out extensive research on women’s rights and international cooperation regarding development, with a specialized focus on Latin America and the European Union. She hopes to further specialize in urban studies, in order to make our cities more inclusive, more accessible and safer.
G5+ collaborates with a vast network of researchers, consultant and experts in some of its projects.