WageIndicator Completes Transition to New Leadership Team - September 1, 2022

Over 22 years of evolution

Starting as a local bottom-up initiative of Vrouwenloonwijzer.nl in 2000, over 22 years WageIndicator evolved into a global organisation operating in 206 countries worldwide. The work of the founders and the growing Wageindicator team has led to the creation of numerous global datasets on actual, minimum and living wages, labour laws, working conditions, collective agreements and more. The information from these efforts is available across 227 websites in 50 national languages for the benefit of workers, employees, employers, civil society organisations, researchers and policymakers across the globe.

Co-Founder and Outgoing Director Paulien Osse	Co-Founder and Outgoing Scientific Director Kea Tijdens

WageIndicator honours its founders Paulien and Kea and their amazing work for the last 22 years. September 2022 marks the period when a new team of five directors will spearhead and scale WageIndicator’s work. All incoming directors have worked with the organisation for at least a decade and are well-placed to carry forward Paulien and Kea’s ambitions. It is a great pleasure that both Paulien and Kea will continue to work with WageIndicator, although in other capacities. Paulien continues her work within the Living Wage team, being connected to our clients and partners, while Kea will serve as an advisor on future research activities and databases.

Speaking on the transition, Paulien Osse said, “It has been a pleasure to see our efforts grow beyond what we dreamed of initially. When we started, we saw that workers, employers and civil society actors lacked access to information on wages, living wages, working conditions or labour laws. Without this, they could not make informed decisions for themselves and their families, or advocacy campaigns. We have been fortunate to fill this gap through high-quality databases and detailed research across the world in national languages, supported by a lovely team.“

Learn in two exclusive interviews more about Paulien's big dreams and an even bigger reality and about Kea and the science behind WageIndicator

New team of directors

Fiona Dragstra will take over as General Director of the WageIndicator Foundation. With an extensive background in the development and social impact sector, Fiona has worked in management, coordination and fundraising of environmental justice and human rights work with NGOs, research institutes, farmers- and youth movements in Africa, and the Sahel in particular. She has a background in Political Communication, and has supported WageIndicator’s data collection and outreach for over ten years. Fiona is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Daniela Ceccon is leading all work on WageIndicator’s databases in her role as Director, Data. Daniela, a journalist at heart and data scientist by training, has been extensively involved in WageIndicator’s research projects over the last decade. Moving forward, she shall spearhead the creation and maintenance of numerous databases around wages, labour issues and collective agreements. Daniela is based in Venice, Italy. 

Rupa Korde, our new Director of Operations and Finance, has been affiliated with WageIndicator for 10 years and spearheads its partnership with FLAME University, India. An economics professor, Rupa also supervises WageIndicator’s research lab at FLAME. Rupa has extensive knowledge and a PhD in the gender pay gap. An experienced organisational manager, Rupa will bring stability and sustainability to WageIndicator as it enters its next phase of growth. She is based in Pune, India.  

Marta Kahancová, as Director of Research, will continue to lead the WageIndicator Foundation’s joint research work with the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), also playing a pivotal role in ongoing research projects undertaken together. After over 14 years of having a close working relationship, CELSI and WageIndicator aim for more integration. With a PhD in Sociology from the University of Amsterdam, and 20 years of research and management experience in the field of labour and working conditions, Marta aims to continue strengthening the vision of Wageindicator through high-quality, international research networks. She is based in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

Niels Peuchen, in his capacity as Director of Communications, will oversee all of WageIndicator’s outreach activities, including websites, social media and growth and online marketing. His background in both journalism and international relations is an asset given the global, public-oriented scope of all these activities. Through innovative communications strategies, he aims to take WageIndicator’s work to stakeholders worldwide and bring attention to the needs and rights of workers across the globe. Niels is based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. 

This new team of directors will strengthen WageIndicator’s global presence, improve its databases, update its data collection, and support the teams and interns that work worldwide. They will lead the organisation as it advocates for the payment of Living Wages as a standard practice by publishing high-quality, accessible information. Through the creation and popularisation of innovative tools like the Labour Rights Index, the Global Labour Risk Index and Decent Work Checks, they will continue to push for true labour market transparency and decent work for all employees and employers. 

About WageIndicator Foundation

WageIndicator Foundation collects, compares and shares labour market information through online and offline surveys and research. Its national websites serve as always up-to-date online libraries featuring (living) wage information, labour law and career advice, for employees, employers and social partners. In this way, WageIndicator is a life changer for millions of people around the world. To learn more, visit WageIndicator.org or your national website.