promoting women’s participation and representation,
Nominations invited for the Women Leaders Award
Published: 11.04.2022
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To recognise and honour women who have taken on leadership roles and made a significant contribution to society, the Women’s Cooperation Network announces the call for nominations for the Women Leaders Award. This year, a total of six awards will be presented—one each in the planning regions of Vidzeme, Latgale, Zemgale, Kurzeme and Riga, and one award to a member of the diaspora in a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country.
Every day throughout Latvia, we see the work carried out by women — both in society and at home. Their contribution is invaluable, but it is not always sufficiently highlighted and appreciated. Women with young children and women working from home have felt the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic most acutely. This is mainly because most care and unpaid work has traditionally fallen on women’s shoulders. Studies show that women spend 62 hours per week caring for children, compared with 36 hours for men. Women devote 23 hours per week to housework, while men devote 15 hours*. During this difficult period, women have also more often lost their jobs because they worked in sectors most severely affected by COVID-19—tourism and hospitality, care work, retail, beauty services and culture. Yet women took on ever-increasing responsibilities and actively helped their neighbours, colleagues and vulnerable members of society,” explains Inete Ielīte, head of the Women’s Cooperation Network.
“We want to thank and recognise the women among us—leaders and sources of inspiration. Starting this year, we want to honour Latvian women in all regions and outside Latvia, which is why we want to present not one, but six awards.
The awards ceremony will take place in March this year, when six Flame statuettes will be presented to their recipients, in the hope that their example will inspire many other women as well.”
The awards ceremony will take place in March this year, when six Flame statuettes will be presented to their recipients, in the hope that their example will inspire many other women as well.”
The Women’s Cooperation Network invites non-governmental organisations, municipal institutions, commercial companies and state institutions in Latvia, as well as in EU or EEA countries, to nominate their candidates for the award by 3 March this year. This can be done by completing the Women Leader Award candidate form, indicating the nominee’s contribution and the grounds for receiving the award.
Candidates may be nominated for notable achievements in the following fields:
· contributing to the protection of women’s rights,
· contributing to improving women’s economic status,
· promoting women’s health,
· educating the public and promoting digital literacy,
· active work in the diaspora,
· work in the integration of society,
· addressing other issues of importance to women and society.
The organisers state that the evaluation committee assessing the candidates will comprise: Inete Ielīte (Chair of the Board of the Women’s Cooperation Network), Laila Balga (Board member of the Women’s Cooperation Network and social inclusion expert), Mudīte Priede (Secretary-General of the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments), Evita Zālīte-Grosa (Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Welfare and Member of Parliament), Ilze Auzere (banker and financier), Baiba Rivža (economist and professor), Dace Terzena (Editor-in-Chief of the Mājas viesis magazine), as well as two previous award winners—Agita Hauka (Chair of the Board of the Latvian Farmers’ Federation) and Dace Paegle (volunteer coordinator of the Latvian Child Welfare Network).
The first Woman Leader of the Year Award was presented on 8 March 1997. The award ceremony was organised by the Institute for Women’s Rights, one of the founders of the Women’s Cooperation Network. For several years, the Women’s Cooperation Network was also involved in organising the award; starting in 2022, it is taking over responsibility for organising the award. Since its inception, the purpose of the award has been to highlight and showcase women’s contribution to society, particularly work that is unpaid but without which Latvia would be unimaginable. The name of the award was supplemented in 2014, when the cash prize of 300 lats was replaced by a porcelain statuette, which was given the name Flame.
The 2022 Women Leader Award, within the project "Women’s involvement in defending their interests", is co-financed by the EEA and Norway Grants programme "Active Citizens Fund" and, under a cooperation agreement, by the Ministry of Welfare. *COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge for gender equality (europa.eu)
About the Women’s Cooperation Network
The Latvian Network of Women’s Non-Governmental Organisations (abbreviated as the Women’s Cooperation Network) was founded in 2003 with the aim of ensuring coordinated participation in defending women’s rights and interests, as well as developing common policies at the national and European Union institutional levels. The organisation is a member organisation of the European Women’s Lobby and performs Latvia’s national coordination function. As an association, LSOST was registered in 2008. It comprises 42 organisations, which bring together 110 organisations and more than 7,000 individual members. In 2015, LSOST acquired the status of a public-benefit organisation. More information: www.sadarbibastikls.lv
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