Carlien Scheele has today started her term as the new Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). She takes over from Virginija Langbakk, who has led the Institute since its inception in 2010.
“I am excited to take over the leadership of EIGE and build on the impressive work done by the Institute’s first Director. I want to cement EIGE’s position as the EU’s knowledge centre on gender equality by deepening collaboration with other organisations, crystallising our messages and stressing our added value,” said Ms Scheele.
“Gender is not a side issue – it is always relevant. From the economy to climate change, EIGE needs to show who is affected, how, and what policymakers can do about it,” she added.
Ms Scheele has nearly 30 years’ experience working on equality-related issues. She joins EIGE from the Dutch government, where she most recently served as Director of Gender and LGBT Equality. In this role she was responsible for mainstreaming a gender perspective into all ministries’ policies – a task she was subsequently asked to undertake at the Council of Europe on secondment from the Dutch government.
These roles fired her passion for gender mainstreaming and clear messages: “You have to tell stories and you have to explain the impact of inequality on people’s lives in concrete terms, you have to provide practical tools for policymakers,” she said.
Ms Scheele chaired the Council of Europe’s first Gender Equality Commission, as well as its Committee on Social Cohesion, Human Dignity and Equality. She has also been a member of EIGE’s Management Board and the EU’s High-level Group on Gender Mainstreaming.
Ms Scheele is a Dutch national and speaks fluent English and French, as well as her native Dutch. She will serve a five-year term as EIGE’s Director, after which her mandate can be renewed for another five years.
eige.europa.eu
