Empowering Experienced Women in Latvia: Unleashing Career Potential

Pērkone explains that women’s career paths can be challenging, and often interrupted due to having and raising children. Therefore, she wants to create a safe, trustworthy place where women can receive professional support helping them to accomplish a career change, develop digital skills, access mentoring and coaching, and receive psychological support and encouragement. “Equally importantly, we want to shift stereotypes in society about people over 50, reduce age discrimination, and promote intergenerational cooperation in workplaces. As all of us on the team are in this age group, we want to start with an audience we know and have experience with,” explains Pērkone. Over time, the initiative aims to expand across the Baltics and become a social enterprise that helps society leverage older women’s experience as a valuable resource rather than a challenge. “Yes, this is a broader European and even global trend. Throughout Europe, society is aging rapidly, and the labour market is short of workers. Many countries are trying to involve people aged 50 and 60+ more actively, because in the long term this is crucial for both the economy and social system. Latvia is no exception. That’s exactly why developing such an initiative at Baltic level is vitally important, because just we have this problem in common, so we can share the solution,” stresses Pērkone. A lack of targeted support The idea for a social enterprise that would help women aged 50+ with careers, growth, and workplace well-being emerged within the Women 50+ association. Through conversations and surveys, the association’s founder observed that many women of pre-retirement age face similar difficulties—changing jobs, learning new skills, declining self-confidence, and uncertainty about opportunities in the job market. At the same time, it was also evident that while they still possess tremendous potential, life experience, and motivation to develop, there is a lack of a single, safe, and encouraging place, where these women can receive targeted support, training, and professional guidance. “That’s how the idea was born for a digital platform that helps women over 50 restart their careers and discover new opportunities,” explains Pērkone. Accordingly, she wants to help women at this stage of life to not only regain confidence, but also to find jobs, start businesses, and acquire new skills. Ingrīda Pērkone stresses that integrating experienced women into the job market is not merely an individual issue—it is directly linked to the country’s economic growth and social stability. “This age group possesses an enormous amount of accumulated experience and professional skills that are often not fully utilised. If women continue working, adapt to new professions, and engage in entrepreneurship, it increases overall employment, reduces labour shortages, lowers social costs and dependence on state support, as well as strengthening the business environment through the addition of stable, loyal, and experienced specialists, as well as fostering economic activity in the regions,” she notes. Therefore, women aged 50+ are not just a target group with specific needs—they are a significant and, in the long term, very important part of the economy. Moreover, for companies, integrating employees of different ages is no longer merely a reputation issue, but a sustainability strategy. Want to keep working, but feel insecure Explaining the platform’s relevance, Pērkone points out that society is aging rapidly and the job market increasingly needs people with experience, adaptability, and long-term stability. At the same time, mature women often feel underrepresented, insecure in the digital environment, and undervalued in the job market. She stresses that many of them want to work for another 10–15 years, but do not feel prepared for change. At the same, workplaces are gradually paying more attention to diversity and intergenerational cooperation, not only as a matter of reputation but also as a key element of a successful business strategy. “The platform’s relevance is further reinforced by the fact that digital skills have become necessary in almost any profession, but for Generation X—born between 1960 and 1981—they are not as obvious and familiar as they are for younger people. Employers lack motivated workers with emotional intelligence, social skills, and proven experience. At the same time, Generation X doesn’t know how to sell itself in the labour market as well as young people do. That’s why this platform is a tool that helps society to harness the considerable, often hidden potential of experienced women,” asserts Pērkone. To build the platform, a company by the name of SIA Re-Starts 50+ has been established and has applied for and received social enterprise status. The social enterprise’s goals have been defined, and the platform concept, content structure, and service model have been developed. Meanwhile, an online lecture and workshop series has begun, where the platform idea is being tested and women’s needs are being collated through extended surveys. Moreover, the team has also graduated from the New Door social entrepreneurship accelerator. “We are currently working on a business plan and preparing to apply for funding to begin the technical development of the platform,” explains Pērkone. Asked when the platform might see the light of day, Ingrīda Pērkone says that if funding were available, technical development could begin immediately. In that case, initial functionality could be ready in about six months. This would allow active pilot projects to start in 2025 and attract the first users on a broader scale. However, the full version would be developed gradually, based on real user needs and feedback. At present, an active community has already formed around the platform, participating in lectures and providing feedback. Parallel to this, the social impact and needs of the target group have been clearly defined, and cooperation has begun with professionals in career development, psychology, and digital skills. Outlining the current status of the initiative, Pērkone explains that, “The community that has taken shape while we were operating as an association is currently our greatest asset, and much of the platform concept is being created with its direct involvement. Although the technical platform is not yet ready, we are continuing to offer online lectures and workshops, testing learning content, and evaluating how well this matches women’s needs. Within the community, we are conducting surveys and in-depth interviews to obtain as accurate an understanding as possible about the issues that really matter to women in this age group. This phase helps to prepare women for the digital format, build trust, attract professionals, and build a cooperation network. As a result, as opposed to being developed theoretically, the platform is being developed based on real needs and close community engagement. Therefore, the eventual solution will be more effective and supportive.” Ingrīda Pērkone makes no bones about the fact that she has also encountered a number of obstacles, including a lack of initial funding that has delayed technical development, the need for more resources with which to ramp up marketing and brand awareness, and the fact that the target group often feels insecure in the digital environment, necessitating a special supportive approach. In the cold light of day however, “These obstacles have given us the opportunity to understand women’s needs even more thoroughly and to build a platform that truly supports them,” she says stoically.