1. Project
“European Federation of Mentors for Girls and
Young Women”
Situation of girls and young women
promotion and mentoring in Latvia
Zonta International District 21 Sweden & Latvia Area Director,
Ex-president of International Zonta Jelgava Club
Prof. Dr.hab.oec. Baiba Rivza
International meeting October 15 -18, 2008, Graz

2. International Zonta Jelgava Club
 Zonta International is a worldwide organization of executives in
business and the professions working together in advancing the status of
women. Nearly 33,000 members belong to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs
in 68 countries and geographic areas.
 International Zonta Jelgava Club was founded in 1997 with aim to
promote the activities of Zonta International in Jelgava city and region.
The main tasks of organization are:
 To improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health, and
professional status of women;
 To work for the advancement of understanding, goodwill, and peace
through a world fellowship of executives in business and the professions;
 To promote justice and universal respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms;
 To be united internationally to foster high ethical standards, to implement
service programs, and to provide mutual support and fellowship for
women

3. Percentage of women in Latvian
population
 Total in the country – 54 %
 Urban population – 55 %
 Rural population – 52 %

4. Situation on girls and young women
promotion in Latvia
 Dominant structure – traditional choice of education
and carrier:
- Health and social care (85% of all employees)
- Service branch (83,3%)
- Education (78,4%)
 Women are less paid, except public administration
(average salary of women is only 81,5% of average
salary of men)
 Awareness of gender equality is in scientific
community (highest proportion of women scientists in
Europe)

5. Situation on girls and young women
promotion in Latvia
Still strong role of stereotypes
 10 women from 100 are full members of the
Latvia Academy of Sciences
 18 women from 100 are members of the
Parliament
 17% of all professors are women
 34% of all entrepreneurs are women, worse
situation is in rural areas – about 20% from all
entrepreneurs

6. Relative share of women & men in
a typical academic career
100
Women
90 89
Men
80 80
70
60 63 60
55
50
45
40 37 40
30
20 20
10 11
0
Students PhD Assistant Associate Full prof.
graduates prof. prof.

7. Percentage of total number of women
in the fields of studies
Teaching sciences and teacher education 84
Humanities 78
Social sciences 65
Natural sciences and mathematics 36
Engineering and technologies 21
Agriculture 44
Health, health and social care 84
Utilities 56
0 20 40 60 80 100

8. Women in entrepreneurship
 34% of all entrepreneurs in Latvia are women
 Worse situation is in rural areas – about 20% from all
entrepreneurs
Main reasons:
 Lack of family support - women as the main responsible
for housework and/or children
 Willingness to avoid risks
 Problems with social system and child care system
 “Male club/traditions/stereotypes” especially in technical
fields
 Missing knowledge about accounting
 Lack of financing
 Low self-esteem

9. Support for Latvia women
from EU structural funds
The gender quality aspect as horizontal objective is included
throughout the Latvia Development Plan 2007 – 2013, primarily
within the priority “Development of Human Resources and
Employment”, e.g.:
 Output indicators and baseline data are broken down by
gender to monitor gender gaps and to measure progress in
gender equality
 Additional points in the selection criteria will be assigned to
those projects which contribute to gender equality
 Gender balance in Monitoring and Steering Committees will
be encouraged

10. Organizations involved in girls and
young women promotion
 International Zontu Jelgava Club
 Latvia Rural Women association
 NGO Līdere
 NGO Marta
 NGO Gender equality society
 NGO Business women society
 Many NGO and women clubs in Latvia regions

11. Mentoring programs for rural
women in Latvia
 Mentoring programs for rural women in Latvia supported through
INTERREG III B project “FEM: Female Entrepreneurs
meetings in the Baltic Sea region” and FIVE-O project “Zonta
and Soroptimist International clubs mentoring program for
rural women”
Main aims of the program were:
 To help the Mentees to develop their business related goals;
 To get the entrepreneurs into active women entrepreneurs’ network
and to start cooperation with each other;
 To ensure sustainability of enterprise in starting phase;
 To provide professional guidance, new knowledge;
 To exchange experiences, to avoid some mistakes.

12. Activities
 Selection of Mentees and Mentors
 Seminars and meetings for Mentees and Mentors
 Composing and concluding agreements between Mentees
and Mentors
 Dissemination activities of mentoring program
 Special training and common coaching and networking
events for Mentors and Mentees
 Questionnaire of 103 exitsing and potential Mentees and 62
existing and potential Mentors all regions of Latvia
 Development of Mentoring manual
 Monitoring and evaluation of mentoring cooperation
(interviews with Mentees and Mentors)

13. Mentoring pairs and groups
 In total 27 mentoring pairs and 3 groups (10 pairs and 2 groups in
Zemgale, 7 pairs and 1 group in Vidzeme, and 5 pairs in each
Latgale and Kurzeme)

14. Main results
 All interviewed mentors and mentees are satisfied
and gratify about cooperation. Most of the mentors
emphasis win – win principle which means that
they are also winners in this situation
 Almost all pairs and groups meet each other once a
week or frequently communicate by phone; But all
emphases meaning of face to face meetings
 Mentees as positive aspect of mentoring mentioned
guiding method that allows the mentee come to
solution by herself (also sustainability of mentoring
results that for example differs from training
courses, one day seminars, etc.)

15. Qualitative results
self - esteem
and security individual
sense satisfaction
11% 17%
information,
new ideas
22% develoment,
growth and
contacts and experience
new 28%
cooperation
possibilities
22%

16. Quantitative results
increased turnower of
enterprises
4
increased educational
3
and qualification level
business partners 4
submitted and
supported projects
5
founded individual
1
enterprise
founded LLC 5
received loans 3
Business plans 5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

17. Other results
 Created data basis of existing and potential women mentors and mentees in
rural regions
 4 FEM Mentors of the event “Mentor of the Year 2006” received
rewards (Nelda Bailīte, Zeltīte Kaviere, Eleonora Maisaka, Vija Ancāne); 2
Mentors of of the event “Mentor of the Year 2007” received awards –
Astrīda Vītola – mentor for micro-credit group in Iecava and Inara
Vasilevska – pair mentor in Preili (Latgale region);
 Mentoring is included in the National plan for development of Latvia for
the years 2007. – 2013 as one of the priorities in creating new competitive
enterprises, creation of unite and efficient support system for business
launching (mentor consultations, finance supporting – “first seed grants", net
supporting, seed grants, micro credits, investments guarantees, risk capital
funding, resource centers etc.).
 Developed mentoring manual in order to support and give concrete advice
to them who plan and are running mentoring projects, especially the co-
ordinators and others involved in practical mentoring.
 6 scientific articles and 12 presentations in seminars and international
conferences in Latvia, Finland, Denmark, Poland, etc.

18. Our main activities with our Project
in 2008
 Event “Young Women Public Affairs” involve essay
competition “Essays of society-active girls” on March,
2008
 Theme - young women and girls’ role and problems in
the society. The girls described activities which have
brought the benefits for their region, main events and
understandings from their own experience and also
women problems in society and possibilities for carrier
development.
 In final event participated representatives of International
Zonta Jelgava club and Rotari club, chairman of Jelgava
City council, Jelgava State Secondary school, Spidola
Secondary School and others.

19. Our main activities in 2008
 Visit in the Parliament of Republic of Latvia on 11th April, 2008
for winners of Irina Maksimova, Liene Bergmane and Anna Katlaga and their
English teacher Skaidrīte Bukbārde. Premises of the Parliament were observed and
information about its operation and history were found out. Also, in this
visit, future plans of the girls were discussed regarding their carrier choice, their
achievements and possible cooperation in different projects.
Winners of essay competition Irina Maksimova,
Liene Bergmane and Anna Katlaga, March, 2008

20. Our main activities in 2008
 Meeting of Zonta International District 21 Sweden & Latvia Area on
April 12, 2008 (Presentation of FIVE-O project Zonta and Soroptimist
International clubs mentoring program for rural women”)
 Meeting in the Latvian Parliament on May 19, 2008 – Challenges of
women NGO’s in implementing Latvian National Development plan 2007-
2013 (prof. B.Rivža)
 Latvian Zontians scholarship for talented and hard working Latvian girls
who do not have the chances to continue their higher education due to the poor
family economy. On the 15th February 2008 Latvian Zontians meeting it was
decided that the Latvian Zonta Clubs’ annual scholarship will be granted in
the amount of 1000 lats (100 lats a month from September to June) to Madara
Mežviete from Kalnciema Secondary School. The scholarship will be
administrated through the Vītols Foundation (Vītolu fonds), a non-profit
organization founded in 2002.
 Experts meeting for mentoring of young women and girls – existing
situation and future development on July 9, 2008 in Skaistkalne (about 20
participants; presentation of project “European Federation of Mentors for Girls
and Young Women” and new ideas for national workshop)

21. Our main activities in 2008
Experts meeting on July 9,
2008 in Skaistkalne

22. Our main activities in 2008
 Rural women summer schools in 2008
- On July 22-23 in Vidzeme, Valka (about 30 participants)
- On July 23-24 in Latgale, Ludza (about 80 participants)
- On August 5-6 in Vidzeme, Cēsis (about 100 participants)
- On August 15-16 in Kurzeme, Īvande (about 30 participants)
- On August 15-16 in Vidzeme, Alūksne (about 50 participants)
- On August 20 in Vidzeme, Valmiera (about 100 participants)
- On August 22-23 in Latgale, Jēkabpils (about 30 participants)
Presentations on girls and young women in sociaty, mentoring
programs and project “European Federation of Mentors for Girls
And Young Women” (lectors prof. B.Rivža, as.prof. M.Krūzmētra,
E.Konstantinova)

23. Rural women summer school in Vidzeme,
Valmiera on August 20, 2008

24. Rural women summer school in Latgale, Jēkabpils on
August 22, 2008

25. National wokshop on September 4-
5, Jelgava
 23 participants
 Presentations of the representatives of project lead partner - Project Office
for Innovative Social Policy Gerlinde Hacker and Doris Hasenschwandtner
 Presentation of International Zonta Club Jelgava - the overall situation of
girls and young women mentoring in Latvia.
 Presentations of two young girls – Irina Maksimova and Madara Mežviete -
about their experience within activities organized by International Zonta
Jelgava Club.
Five presentations blocks, where women mentors and mentees shared their
experience and also show some practical examples of their work :
 Mentoring for girls and young women in self and career development;
 Mentoring for girls and young women in handicraft;
 Mentoring for girls and young women in housekeeping, catering and child
care; Mentoring for girls and young women in tourism;
 Mentoring for girls and young women in wellness and beauty care –.
 The workshop has roused interest also for local mass media – regional TV
and radio.

26. Thank you for your attention!