Creating Inclusive Working Environments: Erasmus +

WomanUp Foundation Takes Part In An International Program For Young Parents

Who carries the invisible weight of care while others are on the move? Who stays behind when opportunities present themselves and professional travel occurs? Very often the answer is: women. Still perceived as the main caregivers in society, young female professionals very often find themselves held back when it comes to moving on with their careers and attending engagements outside the home due to the expectation of constant and unpredictable parental care without sufficient support.

As an organization deeply concerned with women’s well-being and rights, with special focus on pregnancy and maternity, WomanUp Foundation will take part in an international training seminar dedicated to developing skills and strategies on how to manage parenthood and career focus in an unbalanced social system.

The seminar will take place in Latvia from 25-29 August 2026 with representatives from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Italy and is an initiative by Biedriba ideA (Latvia). The idea for the training was born after observing concerning trends – experienced professionals, trainers and workers, who are also parents, frequently step back from international engagements due to expected uninterrupted care availability.

After hearing numerous stories of cancelled participation, reduced visibility in international networks and slowed careers, the designers of the training decided that’s it’s time to address the issue. The project aims to provide the participants with skills, knowledge and tools on how to manage parenthood while keeping their global professional commitments open and how to remain connected to their work environments.

Why is this good for us?

The program will allow us to discover more on how to manage the issue and will help us transfer the knowledge to the women the Foundation works with. Our organization is actively involved in protecting women’s rights and encouraging their equal participation in society. We work for female leadership, fight gender based and institutional violence and support access to reproductive healthcare, education and social justice.

In Bulgaria, women keep struggling between career and motherhood and the constant feeling of guilt that they don’t manage successfully neither. Some of them choose not to return to work at all after the official period of maternity leave ends. This puts their development on the professional, social and personal level to a complete stop in a system that does not support them to balance any of these life moments.

Thanks to this Erasmus+ program we are looking forward to learning more on how parents can be supported better and what the world would look like if care was treated as a normal architectural structure in society rather than an external constraint. In addition, hearing more about the other participants’ experiences and setbacks will be valuable knowledge exchange in tackling this issue better in the future.

Association “ideA” is a Latvian non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting self-directed learning, personal growth, creativity, and innovative educational approaches for young people and adults. Through practical methods, educational tools, workshops, and international collaboration projects, the association supports individuals in developing the skills needed for lifelong learning, career development, and active participation in society.