Mentoring is effective in promoting women’s participation in public and political life, say participants of OSCE expert workshop in Skopje

Mentoring is one of the most effective strategies to promote women’s participation in public and political life, said participants of an expert meeting in Skopje organized by the OSCE Gender Section on 12 October 2015, which brought together representatives of civil society, politics, business and academia from across the Western Balkans.

The workshop saw representatives of the six field operations from the Western Balkans exchange experiences in establishing mentor-mentees networks in the OSCE region. The mentoring project has been implemented in the Western Balkans for the last three years.

Nina Suomalainen, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje emphasized the great potential of mentoring networks “in building solidarity and in assisting women to take role in their communities, especially those coming from disadvantaged and minority ones.”

During the workshop, participants discussed strategies and step-by-step actions in attracting potential mentors, encourage mentees and maintaining networks in different fields and various target groups. The use of mentoring as a potential strategy to empower and integrate women from marginalized communities, and as a tool to strengthen the position of business women and women in politics at the local level was also highlighted by participants.

The Expert Workshop was organized by the OSCE Gender Section and hosted by the OSCE Mission to Skopje.