Ms. Philomena Essed is a Senior Researcher at the Amsterdam Research Institute for Global Issues and Development Studies, University of Amsterdam, and Co-director of the research program, "Gender, Ethnic Relations and Childhood". She is also a Visiting Professor at the University of California, Irvine, Program of African-American Studies. Ms. Essed has researched and published extensively on the issue of gender and racism and held a number of advisory positions for governmental and non-governmental bodies.

Ms. Mely G. Tan is the Chairperson at the Research Institute, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, and a Lecturer at the Graduate School, Institute of Police Sciences of the National Police Force, Jakarta. Her research and work has focused on gender and development, in particular women and health and empowerment of women, societal development and inter-group relations, focusing on the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia and other Asian countries. Ms. Tan is a member of a number of associations and foundations in Indonesia and the author of publications on a range of subjects, including the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, equality and development, abortion and ageing.

Ms. Françoise Gaspard is a Member on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. In the past, she has been a member of the European Parliament (1979-1981) and a member of the French Parliament (1981-1988). Ms. Gaspard has worked on issues of equality, including as a consultant for the Council of Europe and a lecturer on women’s rights at European and American universities. She has published numerous books and articles dealing with women’s rights and parity (la parité), women in decision-making, and female migration in France and in Europe.

Ms. Pragna Patel has legal training and works as a community/case worker at Southall Black Sisters, a legal advice centre in London, where she represents women in domestic violence cases, matrimonial disputes, criminal matters and other areas. Ms. Patel has carried out a number of campaigns to inform Asian women of their rights and raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence, highlight inequalities in the law between men and women, and influence policies on the issue of forced arranged marriages.