EU – Baltic States, Forum, Latvia, Legislation, Women leaders

The conference, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the European Commission, is one of the key events of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Year for Development.

Conference participants will be discussing women’s empowerment in the labour market and access to financial resources. Examples of best practice from the developing counties will be analysed taking into account the degree of women’s involvement in business since this contributes to sustainable development of environment, economy and society. A special focus will be placed on ensuring that the rights of girls and women are included amongst the post-2015 global development goals.

High-ranking officials from the European Union institutions and member states, experts from non-governmental organisations and representatives from the private sector including, for example, from Microsoft and Mondelēz International are expected to take part in discussions. The event will be opened by the Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, and a former President of Latvia and President of the Club de Madrid, Prof. Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.

The event will be broadcast online on the websites of the Latvian Presidency (www.eu2015.lv), the Foreign Ministry (www.mfa.gov.lv) and the European Commission (www.ec.europa.eu).

Gender equality and empowerment of women and girls is one of key priorities for the Latvian Presidency in development cooperation policy. Special attention will be paid to the pension gap between men and women, and the underlying causes – educational opportunities, career options, and the gender wage gap.