Elena Zacharenko
Researcher
Dr Elena Zacharenko joined the European Social Observatory (OSE) in 2026 as a researcher specializing in EU policy on care, domestic work and work-life balance policies. Her work focuses on the ways in which EU social, economic and gender equality policies frame care needs and caring obligations, and how EU actors address the challenges posed by the demographic transition and ageing populations. Her doctoral thesis on this topic, defended with a distinction, has resulted in a number of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.
Elena holds a PhD in social sciences from Tampere University, Finland, and an MA in European politics from the University of Sussex, UK. Prior to joining the OSE, she worked in a variety of EU policy, research and evaluation roles both in the non-profit sector, and as an independent consultant and expert evaluator for EU-funded programmes, such as CERV, Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. She is a native speaker of Russian and Polish, fluent in English, French and Spanish, and intermediate in Portuguese.
