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CIM Member States
The Inter-American Commission of Women brings together representatives from all of the OAS members states. The representative is known as the Principal Delegate and is usually the highest-level authority responsible for gender equality and women's rights issues.
CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015:
- President: Costa Rica (Maureen Clarke Clarke)
- Vice-Presidents: Haití (Marie Yanick Mézile), Panamá (Markelda Montenegro de Herrera) y
Uruguay (Beatriz Ramírez Abella) - Members: Barbados, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and the United States
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JACQUI QUINN-LEANDRO Minister of Labour, Public Administration and Empowerment with responsability for Gender Affairs Jacqui Quinn-Leandro currently serves as Minister of State Attached to the Office of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. Her previous posts have included news anchor and talk show host at ABS Television, human resource and marketing officer at the Antigua Barbuda Investment Bank, communications consultant at the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation and the corporate communications consultant for the Antigua Commercial Bank. |
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GLORIA BENDER Special Representative for Women's Issues in the International Sphere, Ministry of External Relations, International Trade and Religious Diversity Ambassador Bender holds a Bachelor's degree in Modern Literature from the National Univeristy of Córdoba and has had a long career in the General Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of External Relations, International Trade and Religious Diversity of Argentina, where she has worked as Director of the Area since 2003. |
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MELANIE GRIFFIN Minister of Social Services Mrs. Griffin currently serves as the Member of Parliament for the Yamacraw Constituency. She was elected in 2002 and 2007. Prior to that, she was appointed a Senator in 1999. She also served as a member of the Party’s Candidates Committee and as a Vice-Chairman with responsibility for Women’s Affairs. Mrs. Griffin started her political career very early as a member of the first PLP youth organization which was the forerunner to the Progressive Young Liberals. |
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IRENE SANDIFORD-GARNER Member of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 Parliamentary Secretary, The Ministry of Health Irene Sandiford Garner was appointed to the Senate in February 2008 as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Community Development. She was subsequently assigned to the Prime Minister’s Office and became the country’s Principal Delegate to CIM (Inter American Commission of Women) in August 2008. She is currently Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health. A graduate of the University of the West Indies with an MBA in business administration, she also holds a post-graduate Diploma in Business Management and studied journalism at the Virginia Commonwealth University at Richmond. She has worked for many years with the Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Ltd., initiating their launch into the United States in 1996 |
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ESTHER AYUSO RAMIREZ Chairperson of the National Women's Commission Esther Ayuso Ramírez currently serves as Chairperson of the National Women’s Commission of Belize. |
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LILI KARINA MARCONI TICONA Vice-Minister for Equality of Opportunities Ms. Marconi holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Upper University of San Andrés, with diploma studies in municipal management, governance and community development, community social work and leadership. |
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ELEONORA MENICUCCI DE OLIVEIRA Minister of the Secretariat for Policies on Women A Professor of Collective Health in the Department of Preventive Medecine at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), Ms. Menicucci currently serves as the Pro Rector of Extension at Unifesp. A graduate in Social Sciences of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (1974), she holds a Master's degree in sociology from the Federal University of Paraíba (1983), a doctorate in political science from the University of São Paulo (1990), and a post-doctorate in in Women's Health and Work from the Faculty of Medicine at the Universitá Degli Studi Di Milano (1994/1995). |
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SUZANNE CLÉMENT Coordinator, Status of Women Canada Suzanne L. Clément currently serves as Coordinator/Head of Agency of Status of Women Canada. Most recently, she held the position of Executive Director of the Portfolio Affairs Office at the Department of Canadian Heritage. Prior to that, Ms. Clément held numerous positions in the federal public service, including at the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Senate of Canada. |
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LORETO SEGUEL KING Ministra Directora Servicio Nacional de la Mujer (SERNAM) Loreto Seguel King currently serves as Minister Director of the National Service of Women of Chile (SERNAM). She is a graduate of civil engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, with a Master's in engineering sciences and ten years of work experience as a business person in private sector companies and foundations. Before joining SERNAM, she served as Under-Secretary of Social Services in the Ministry of Social Development and as Executive Secretary of the Social Protection System (SEPS) of the Ministry of Planning. Previously, she has also served as Regional Minsiterial Secretary of MIDEPLAN in the metropolitan region. |
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CRISTINA PLAZAS MICHELSEN High Counsellor for Women's Equity Specialist in Administrative Law from the University of Rosario. Private Secretary of the Presidency of the Senate and Councillor for Bogota in 2005, where she was author of several agreements, including the ones that created the District Institute of Tourism and established the district policy on tourism in the capital. Similarly, she served as assistant to the Assistant Dean of Special Polytechnic Programs and advisor on the Social Control project in Bogotá, among other positions. |
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MAUREEN CLARKE CLARKE President of the CIM 2013-2015 Minister for the Status of Women Ms. Clarke holds a degree in law from the University of Costa Rica, and another in public administration from the Master's Program Central American Institute of Public Administration (ICCAP). She has also studied management and public administration at the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE). Ms. Clarke currently serves as the Minister for the Status of Women and as Executive President of the National Institute of Women (INAMU) of Costa Rica (2011-2014). Previously, she has worked as deputy mayor of San José (2007-abril del 2010), where she led the formulation of the Municipal Plan for Gender Equity. She has also served as Minister of Justice and Grace (1995–1996) and was the first woman Minister of Governance and Policy (1994-1995). |
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GLORIA SHILLINGFORD Minister for Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs A Dominican educator and a politician in the Labour Party, Ms. Shillingford has served in the House of Assembly of Dominica since 2005. Shillingford graduated from Teikyo-Westmar University with a Bachelor of Arts, began working as a teacher in 1979, and eventually became principal of St. Andrews High School. Ms. Shillingford ran for the Wesley seat in the House of Assembly in the 2005 general election and was subsequently appointed as a Senator that year. She won the Wesley seat on 18 December 2009. Shillingford currently serves as the Minister for Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs, and has served as Secretary General of the UNESCO Dominica Commission. |
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ALEJANDRINA GERMAN Minister for Women Alejandrina Germán currently serves as the Minister for in the Dominican Republic. Prior to that, she has worked as State Secretary for Education, Area Coordinator and President of the National Council for Higher Education (CONES) and as a consultant to the Ibero-american University (UNIBE). |
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MARIA ALEXANDRA OCLES PADILLA President of the Transition Commission, President of the National Council on Gender Equality (CONAMU) Alexandra Ocles served as a State Minister in the Department of People, Social Movements and Citizen Participation, where she directed the development and implementation of the Plurinational Plan against racial discrimination and ethnic and cultural exclusion. From 2007 to 2009 she was a member of the Constituent Assembly from Pichincha curul, from which position she promoted the inclusion in the Magna Carta of the rights of afro-Ecuadoran people and other minorities. She has been involved from a young age in activism around the rights of afro-Ecuadoran peoples. |
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YANIRA ARGUETA MARTINEZ Director of the Salvadoran Institute for Women's Development (ISDEMU) A therapist, feminist and social activist for the last 22 years, Ms. Argueta has participated in numerous social movements fighting for an end to armed conflict and has promoted women's organizations in El Salvador. Founder and Executive Director of the Association for the Self-Determination of Salvadoran Women (AMS), where she designed and promoted strategies for women's political and citizen participation, local development planning from a gender perspective and an integrated response to violence against women, including trafficking. She has also participated actively in health care reform processes at the national and international levels. |
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SYLVESTER QUARLESS Minister of Social Development Sylvester Quarless currently serves as Minister of Social Development of Grenada. He is a member of the National Democratic Congress and the House of Representatives of Grenada and has previously served as Information Officer with the Government of Grenada. |
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ELIZABETH QUIROA CUELLAR Member of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 Presidential Secretary for Women An economist with a Master's in Political Science and Local Economic Development, Ms. Quiroa has completed post-graduate studies in environmental sociology and international insertion strategies and external finances. She has occupied various posts within government and with international cooperation organizations and the private sector. Ms. Quiroa has participated in the formulation of public policies from a gender perspective with various government institutions in Guatemala. Similarly, she has conducted research on public budgets with a gender perspective, feminicide, implications of the FTA for rural economies, mternal and child health and valuation of women's economic contribution, among other issues. |
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JENNIFER WEBSTER Minister of Human Services and Social Security |
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MARIE YANICK MEZILE Vice-President of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 Ministre a la Condition Feminine et aux Droits des Femmes Ms. Mézile founded the Association of Traders from the Informal Sector (ACSI) in Haiti and has also worked at Sogelbank as an intermediary between women traders from the informal sector and the bank. Ms. Mézile chaired both the ACSI and the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises. Ms. Mézile oversees gender equality policies, the promotion of the defense of women's rights and the strengthening of the institutional and operative capacities of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights in Haiti. Ms. Mézile earned her degree from the Julien Craan School of Business and the Hotel School of Haiti. She has also studied management of small and medium enterprises at the Jackson State University with a scholarship from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). |
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MARIA ANTONIETA BOTTO Minister of the National Institute of Women of Honduras (INAM) |
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FAITH WEBSTER Executive Director, Bureau of Women's Affairs Faith Webster currently serves as the Executive Director of the Bureau of Women and Gender Affairs of Jamaica. Ms. Webster has been with the Bureau since 1997, serving in various capacities such as Public Education Training Officer and Policy Analyst. |
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LORENA CRUZ SANCHEZ Member of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 President of the National Institute of Women of Mexico (INMUJERES) A graduate in business administration from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, Lorena Cruz has completed diplomas in gender-sensitive public policy, international trade and relations and high management. Before assuming the presidency of INMUJERES, she served as Executive Spokesperon for the State Council on Women and Social Welfare of the Government of the State of Mexico, where she supported publications, research, reforms to the legal framework, and actions for equality between women and men, prevention, care, punishment and eradication of violence against women, public policy from a gender perspective and women's human rights. |
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ARLEN VARGAS PADILLA Directora Ejecutiva, Instituto Nicaragüense de la Mujer (INIM) |
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MARQUELDA MONTENEGRO DE HERRERA Vice-President of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 Directora General, Instituto Nacional de la Mujer Marquelda Montenegro currently serves as the Director General of the National Institute of Women of Panama. |
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GLORIA RUBIN Ministra, Secretaría de la Mujer de la Presidencia de la República Gloria Rubin currently serves as Minister and Secretary of Women for the Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay. She has had a long career fighting for women and family. She is a psychologist with a Master’s in the sociology of development and post-graduate work on research methodologies in the area of women. |
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ANA ETHEL JARA VELASQUEZ Member of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 Minister for Women and Vulnerable Populations Notary, graduate in law of the National University of Ica, Ms. Jara completed her studies with a Master's in law with a specilization in civil and commercial law, from the post-graduate school at National University San Luis Gonzaga de Ica, as has completed doctoral studies at the same university. She was a secretary (2001-2002) and assistant dean (2003-2004 and 2005-2006) of the College of Notaries of Ica. In 2011, she was elected as a legislator for the political party Gana Perú. She is a member of the Directing Council and Permanent Commission of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, as well as the Commissions on Fiscalization and Justice and Housing. |
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MARCELLA LIBURD Minister of Health, Social Services, Community, Development, Culture, and Gender Affairs |
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ALVINA REYNOLDS Minister of of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations A qualified social worker who has been a pillar in her church and community. Alvina Reynolds continues to inspire the youth and provide leadership through the various initiatives she has founded. A strong willed woman with the character and personality to lead is ready to work towards the social development of her country. |
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FREDERICK STEPHENSON Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Mobilization, Social Development, Youth and Sports Frederick Stephenson began his career in the Magistrate Court where he served for a period of twelve (12) years before moving to the ministry of Health where he worked as a Senior Accounts Clerk. He also served as a Customs Officer at the Customs and Excise Department and in the office of the Prime Minister before being elected on December13, 2010, to represent in Parliament, the constituency of South Windward. |
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TBD |
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MARLENE COUDRAY Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development Ms. Marlene Coudray was appointed a Senator and Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development on June 25, 2012. Ms. Coudray previously served as the CEO of the San Fernando Regional Corporation, and then as Mayor of San Fernando between 2010 and 2012 |
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WANDA K. JONES Member of the CIM Executive Committee 2013-2015 President of the CIM 2010 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Wanda K. Jones currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the United States’ Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), as well as Director of the Office of Women’s Health (OWH). Prior to that, Dr. Jones was the Associate Director for Women's Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. From 1990 to 1994, she served as CDC's Assistant Director for Science in the Office of the Associate Director for HIV/AIDS, where she was active in policy issues related to HIV laboratory testing, women and AIDS, HIV vaccine development, and health care workers. |
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FLOR GARCIA Ministry of Popular Power for Women and Gender Equality |
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