On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Ambassador of Latvia Ms Baiba Braže hosted an evening to celebrate the contribution women have made to politics, business and diplomacy. Guest speaker for the event that took place on 9 March at the Embassy was The Rt Hon Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury.

Ideally placed to host such an event, over 70 per cent of employees at the Latvian Embassy are currently women. Baroness Neville-Rolfe stated that with Teresa May as the second ever female Prime Minister, there has never been a better time to celebrate women. With an impressive CV herself, Baroness Neville-Rolfe served as Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2016. She previously served on the Board of Directors for Tesco and was appointed a Life Peer in 2013. She has passed six bills through the House of Lords in past year. Baroness Neville-Rolfe highlighted the major priorities for her current role with the Treasury: the deficit left as a legacy of the financial crisis; improving national productivity and making a success of Brexit.

Drawing on her experience in government and business, Baroness Neville-Rolfe outlined her tips for being successful and happy at work, while keeping in mind the challenges associated with working women and having children.

The evening raised funds for Marta Centre, a non-governmental organisation that provides support to women in Latvia – including non-citizens and migrants, women with low income and unemployed women, female victims of human trafficking and of domestic violence.