Gender Equality in Finland 6.3.2008 Barcelona, Catalunya

1. Riitta Martikainen Ministerial Counsellor, Gender Equality Affairs Gender Equality Unit Gender Equality in Finland6.3.2008 Barcelona, Catalunya

2. Government´s gender equality policy • The Government as a whole is responsible for promoting gender equality. • Minister of Culture and Sports has gender equality issues in his portfolio • Female majority in the government: 20 ministers, 11 women and 9 men

3. Goals of the gender equality policy • equal pay for men and women • advancement of women’s careers and promotion of women into managerial positions • mainstreaming of the gender perspective in all policies • reduction of gender-based segregation of the labour market • reconciliation of work and family life • promoting awareness of gender equality in schools • Government prepares Action Plan for Gender Equality

4. Pay differences • The pay gap between women and men is about 20 % • Women participate in paid work very actively • Employment rate for women is 68 % and for men 71 % • 19 % of women and 8 % of men work part time • 20 % of women and 13 % of men have fixed-term work • Average level of education is higher for women than for men, high level of gender segregation

5. Equal Pay Programme (1) • The Government’s goal is to clearly reduce the differences in pay between men and women • The Government is committed to the tripartite equal pay programme • The Equal Pay Programme started in 2006 • All the central labour market central organisations are involved in the programme

6. Equal Pay Programme (2) • Main aim of the programme is to narrow the pay gap from 20 % to 15 % by the year 2015 • Other objectives are related to: • payroll systems • segregation of the labour market • collective agreements • family and work • women’s career advancement

7. The Act on Equality between Women and Men • Entry in 1987, revised and amended several times • Objectives of the act • To prevent direct and indirect discrimination based on gender • To promote equality between women and men • To improve the status of women, particularly in working life

8. More about the Equality Act • all public authorities must promote gender equality as part of their official duties • quotas: • in Government committees, boards,working groups etc. and in municipal bodies at least 40 % of both men and women • no quotas in private companies

9. Gender Equality Planning at Workplaces • The Equality Act obliges all employers to promote gender equality (recruitment, promotion, pay etc.) • employers with workforce of 30 or more are required to draw up a gender equality plan • pay survey must be done as part of the equality plan • information on the pay of women and men employed by an employer • if pay discrimination is found, it must be rectified

10. Female leadership • one of focuses of the Governments gender Equality Policy • less than tenth of the chief executive officers (CEO)are women • less than fourth of corporate board members are women • new research results: company led by a female CEO is on average about 10 % more profitable • the share of female board members has a similar positive impact