Maria Andriani Kostopoulou

For over 17 years, Dr. Maria-Andriani Kostopoulou has been advocating for the effective and harmonised implementation of international and European human rights standards, including women’s rights standards, as a lawyer at the Supreme Court of Greece and through various positions at the Council of Europe. She is currently the second Vice-President of GREVIO, member of the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, the Vice-Director of the Marangopoulos Foundations for Human Rights, member of the Consultative Board of the HELP Network and Chair of the CoE Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child.

In their work, women in law often come across inequalities, gender stereotypes and human rights violations that women are subjected to nowadays. At the same time, the law can be a tool of power and women who are in the legal world can play an important role in enacting positive change and achieving high level targets to make a difference for gender equality. To this effect, women in law should be supported and empowered, through strong networks and alliances, in their efforts to break glass ceilings!