The Gender Research Alliance
The Gender Research Alliance (GRA) was established by Josie Rowe-Setz, Grania Mackie and Carmen Möllmann to combine their different approaches to research and development services.
The partners are experienced researchers, project managers, facilitators and policy advisors, mainly in low and middle-income countries. Their experience ranges from the development of regional women’s economic empowerment strategies, to the highly focused assessment of gender practices in individual organisations and programmes.
To ensure diverse assignment teams needed for each unique assignment the Gender Research Alliance makes use of additional professional and specialist resources from a pool of talented associates. For associates, the partners support young men and women from low- and middle-income countries who are starting their research careers.
The Gender Research Alliance is a non-profit company registered in South Africa with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
Carmen Möllmann
An experienced program manager with over 15 years in the development sector, of which 7 of those were within the UN. She has a strong competency in project programming, building relationships, research, the design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment techniques. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pretoria (BCom: Entrepreneurship (2002)), a post graduate degree from the University of South Africa (BCom: Hons Finance (2005)) and a Masters degree from the University of Pretoria (MCom: Corporate Leadership (2014)).
Grania Mackie
An expert trainer in women’s entrepreneurship development tools and is an experienced gender auditor. She has over 14 years of experience working with the UN in gender and disability mainstreaming private sector programmes. Ms. Mackie was instrumental in the conceptualization and development of many of the ILO’s original tools and approaches to women’s enterprise development programmes. She has an under graduate degree from De Montfort University (UK) and MScs from the Open University (Development Management (2009) and Environmental Decision Making (2013)).
Josie Rowe-Setz
A researcher focused on market research, industrial research, strategy formulation, building and implementation planning, and policy development. She has undertaken over 400 research projects for the public sector, as well as for large private sector firms and international donors. She is an excellent problem solver and negotiator. She holds a bachelors degree in politics, psychology and communication (2000), a post graduate degree in applied psychology and a master’s degree (MSC) with the University of Liverpool (2014).
Hiskia Mbura
Hiskia Mbura is a Gender Research Alliance Associate. He is a Senior Researcher specializing in environmental policy, dry-land ecology and Stakeholder Liaison. He has over 10 years’ experience on ecological research, stakeholder facilitation, policy development. He holds a Masters degree: Integrated Water Management, from the University of Queensland (2014), Post-Grad Diploma: Restoration Ecology from the Iceland University of Agriculture (2010), B-Hons: Sustainable Land Management from the University of the Western Cape (2009).
Jane Maigua
Jane Maigua has over 20 years experience in youth employment and women entrepreneurship, six of which with the ILO. She is an experienced consultant in program design and proposal writing, grant raising, market research, project evaluations, and curriculum design. Jane is an ILO master trainer in various enterprise development tools. She holds an MA in Business Leadership from the Pan Africa Christian University (2011) and a BSc in Mathematics and appropriate Technology from Kenyatta University (1995).