Statement at the Ministerial Round Table of the Commission of the Status of Women by the Prime Minister of Latvia H.E. Evika Siliņa
New York, 12 March 2024
Theme: Mobilizing financing for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls: policies and strategies to end women’s and girls’ poverty
Excellencies!
Colleagues!
The promotion and achievement of gender equality cannot be imagined without fighting women’s and girls’ poverty and without sufficient resources allocated to advancing women’s and girls’ economic opportunities.
Girls’ and women’s poverty is a complex issue, and addressing it requires a comprehensive approach.
Gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting are important tools for policymakers.
Poverty reduction and gender equality are priorities of the Government of Latvia.
In recent years, Latvia has implemented various activities to reduce poverty and promote opportunities and rights in the labour market and education.
In 2021, Latvia introduced a reform in the field of minimum income support.
It is aimed at an annual review of the minimum income levels based on sound and transparent methodology, thus improving the adequacy of minimum income.
Poverty mainly affects older women and women in vulnerable situations.
To reduce the risk of poverty for women at retirement age, it is crucial to work on girls’ and women’s empowerment their life cycle.
Fighting gender-based stereotypes is one of the main strategies to empower women, especially girls, to pursue successful careers and use economic opportunities to their benefit.
Deep-rooted gender-based stereotypes affect girls’ and boys’ educational choices that later affect their career paths.
It is essential to eliminate negative stereotypes in education so that women can reach their full professional potential.
Therefore, financing inclusive quality education is crucial for gender equality and sustainable economic development.
Gender-based stereotypes are also one of the main factors that contribute to the gender-pay gap.
One of Latvia’s priorities for the upcoming years is to implement a pay transparency mechanism that can help tackle pay discrimination at work and contribute to closing the gender pay gap.
This will help to reduce the existing gender pension gap that affects women when they retire.
Private sector plays a crucial role in mobilizing funding for women’s economic empowerment.
In this context, Latvia will continue the awareness-raising activities for businesses on inclusive and diverse work environments, highlighting good practices.
Another area where gender-based stereotypes affect the economic situation of women is work-life balance.
Women often suffer from the so-called “motherhood penalty” that affects their economic status later in life, leaving them in a vulnerable situation.
To solve this problem, flexible working arrangements are necessary.
It is also vital to have a sufficiently funded maternity, parental and family leave system.
It should have built-in mechanisms, ensuring that fathers take their parental leave.
Latvia has recently introduced measures to strengthen the men’s role in childcare.
We encourage fathers to exercise to use parental leave and promote equal sharing of family and household responsibilities.
In the family policy context, the availability of quality childcare services and early childhood education is also crucial.
In Latvia, a focus is on improving the availability of childcare services, both public and private with public co-financing.
Let me conclude by underlining that for women and girls to succeed, we have to engage men and boys in gender equality.
We should focus on raising men’s awareness about women’s economic empowerment, equal pay, equal sharing of family responsibilities, work-life balance issues and the benefits of a gender-equal society for all.
Thank you!
Photo: Gatis Rozenfelds, Valsts kanceleja