Gabriella Ramos

Mexican professor Gabriela Ramos assumed the position of Director-General for Social Sciences and Humanities at UNESCO on July 1st. She has been working at UNESCO for over 20 years, first as Director of the OECD Centre for Latin America in Mexico City since 1999, then as Deputy Chief of Staff since 2006, and from November 2008 as Chief of Staff, a role she combined with that of OECD Sherpa to the Group of Twenty (G20) and the Group of Seven (G7) since June 2009.

Previously, she held various positions in the Mexican government, notably as Advisor to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1990-1993), Technical Secretary of the Cabinet of the Secretary of Planning and Budget (1989) and Director of Economic Affairs and the OECD at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-1998).

Gabriela Ramos is a renowned advocate for gender equality, which has earned her international recognition. She helped establish the W20 (Women 20) network, is a member of the Lancet Commission on Ending Violence Against Women, and launched the “Girls Can STEM” initiative.

A professor of international economics at the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Gabriela Ramos has collaborated with various foundations and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness and the Mexico at Harvard Foundation. She also chaired the Harvard Club of Mexico from 1997 to 2001.

Highlighting the appointment, Karina Batthyány, Executive Secretary of CLACSO, sent him the following letter:

“Dear Gabriela Ramos,
I am pleased to write to you to extend my most sincere and heartfelt congratulations on your appointment as Director-General for Social Sciences and Humanities at UNESCO.
The current context of our Latin American and Caribbean region demands a strong commitment from the Social Sciences and Humanities to understand and contribute to the transformation of reality. Without a doubt, her appointment as Director is an invaluable contribution toward building new horizons.
Knowing his track record in this area and the important contributions he has made, we want to wish him the greatest success in this new stage of enormous responsibilities.
CLACSO is and will always be available to strengthen fraternal ties and collaborate with initiatives it deems appropriate.
I take this opportunity to reiterate to you the assurances of my highest consideration and esteem.
Karina Batthyány”