ESCR-Net —the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a collaborative initiative of groups and individuals from around the world working to secure economic and social justice through human rights. Across 75 countries, over 270 members—including civil society organizations, social movements, and academic centres— convene in ESCR-Net to exchange information, amplify their advocacy strategies, and develop a collective voice to advance economic, social and cultural rights in the world.

ESCR-Net is led by its members who are organized in thematic Working Groups: i) Women and ESCR, ii) Corporate Accountability, iii) Strategic Litigation (where Lucy McKernan, GI-ESCR’s Geneva Representative is also a member of the Steering Committee) iv) Economic Policy, v) Social Movements, and vi) Monitoring of ESCR.

Last week the Working Group on Women and ESCR (WESCR) held elections to select the six new members of the Steering Committee for the period 2020-2022. There were twenty-one amazing women candidates representing the six regions of the world. We are pleased to announce that GI-ESCR’s Programme Officer on Women’s ESCR and Gender Equality, Alejandra Lozano Rubello, was elected as representative for the Latin American and the Caribbean region.

GI-ESCR is honoured to be able to continue contributing to the Steering Committee and to the collective efforts of the WESCR to advance substantive equality and ensure that the demands of grassroots women and feminist organizations are at the centre of advocacy strategies and policy-making. Alejandra will follow in the footsteps of Mayra Gomez, former Co-Executive Director of GI-ESCR, who was a member of the WESCR Working Group for many years, bringing in particular expertise on women’s access to land and productive resources. Alejandra is passionate about feminist theory and practice and looks forward to joining this dynamic group and to continue contributing ideas on the intersections between women rights, public services, the care economy, and just transitions.