Mariko Higuchi completed her bachelor’s degree of Russian and Social Sciences at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Afterwards she completed her master’s degree in Eastern European Studies at the Free University of Berlin with a focus on politics. During her Mercator Fellowship she concentrated on economic advancement of women in emerging countries. In the context of her project she intensively studied the effects of international promotion of women in Central Asia. Mariko Higuchi now works at IOM in Bangkok.