“Increased participation of women in corporate boards contributes to better economic results and better governance of companies in general,” said the Bulgarian MEP Mariya Gabriel during a meeting with the Council of Business Women in Bulgaria in Prague to discuss the directive of the European Parliament on the participation of women on the boards of companies.

The ladies of the Council had several meetings in the Czech capital to discuss the work done during the year and the projects for the upcoming 2016. They met with MEP Mariya Gabriel and Bulgarian ambassador to the Czech Republic Lachezar Petkov. The women of the Council also met with members of similar Czech women’s organizations, during which they discussed details about the Global Women Leaders’ Forum in May 2016 in Sofia.

The Council of Women and Mariya Gabriel agreed to meet again in early 2016 in order to discuss concrete actions to support the Directive of the European Parliament. “The ladies of the organization are a great example of successful women in business, and proof that entrepreneurship is an area for women,” Gabriel shared on her Facebook page.

The Chairperson of the Council Boryana Manolova presented the work of Council to ladies from the organization Business & Professional Women Praha II and representatives of the University of Economics Prague. The President of the Czech business organization Lenka Stastna shared their initiatives related to equal pay for men and women for the same work.

“At the moment the pay gap in the Czech Republic is 23%,” Stastna said. “Our efforts are aimed at reducing that difference,” she said during the meeting.

The Czech organization suggested further cooperation with the Council of women and the members promised to visit Sofia during the conference organized by the Council in May 2016.

The focus of the second work meeting in Prague was the end of the 2015/2016 Leadership Academy, which is due in February, and the tasks before the start of the new class of 2016/2017.

The second edition of the National Internship initiative is also scheduled after its successful launch in 2015. The Council is also working on concepts for new initiatives, which will be presented in early 2016.

At the meeting with Lachezar Petkov, Bulgarian ambassador to Prague, the ladies discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the Bulgarians in the Czech Republic.