Finland: Country Report

Gender equality has long been a core value in Finland. It is enshrined in the constitution and, more specifically, in the Act on Equality between Women and Men (Equality Act). Gender equality calls for concrete efforts. The government has compiled its key equality measures into an action plan.

Women have traditionally worked alongside men in Finland. Agriculture dominated by small farms required a full contribution from both women and men. The changing occupational structure gave women an opportunity to work in the industry and the service sector, while at the same time they also had to work for their living.

In Finland, women and men received full political rights in 1906. Finnish women were the first in Europe and the third in the world with the right to vote and the first country in the world where women also could be elected. The percentage of women in Parliament remained at approximately 10 per cent until the early 1950s and after that it has been rising steadily. In the 1980s, the proportion exceeded 30 per cent.

In the last few decades, women have gradually entered all spheres of politics and all political positions, although the distribution is not completely even yet. In 2000, the Finns elected their first female president, Tarja Halonen, who was re-elected in 2006. Finland has also had two female prime ministers in the 2000s. Of the MPs elected in the 2011 parliamentary elections, 42,5 per cent were women. In the 2012 local elections, 36 per cent of the new assembly members were women. The composition of municipal boards and committees must be in accordance with statutory 40–60 per cent quota requirements, which has not caused any major problems.

Women in Finnish politics in numbers:

Women in national politics:
European Parliament: 8/13 (61,5 %)
Finnish Parliament: 85/200 (42,5 %)
Finnish Government: 9/19 (47 %)

Women in regional and local politics:
Regional Assemblies: 44 %
Local Assemblies: 36 %
Municipal Managers (Mayors): 16 %

Women in political parties:
Chairpersons of political parties: 3/8 (37,5 %)
Vice-chairpersons of political parties: 11/23 (47,8 %)