Opinión

Finland's EU Presidency from the point of view
of Women Journalists in Finland

(La presidència finesa de la UE des del punt de vista de Women Journalists in Finland )

Eeva Koskinen
Chairwoman / Women Journalists in Finland

Translated by Marjo Cunningham

When Finland held the Presidency of the European Union in July-December 2006, the issues of gender equality did not play any significant role on the agenda. The Finnish government based its own EU Presidency objectives on the assumption that, in Finland, gender equality has been successfully mainstreamed throughout the entire public administration. Differences in men's and women's pay, short-term and temporary jobs accumulating on young women, a division of the costs of parenthood between men's and women's employers, and violence against women did not feature at all during the Finnish Presidency.

The continuing shortage of women in company top managements did come up during the Finnish Presidency. Most European countries have already taken measures to ensure that women, more often than today, should be elected on the boards of private enterprises as well.

In Finland, the government has imposed a quota according to which all state-owned companies must have a minimum 40% of women and a minimum 40% of men on their board of management. To a large extent, this has been realised. The highest number of women members on the boards of public companies can be found in Norway, followed by Sweden, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Latvia. At their meeting in Finland during the Presidency, the EU equality ministers could not agree on the effect of quotas to the election of women on the boards. The meeting did, however, underline the significance of gender equality as a citizen's basic right. The meeting further considered that a key issue, from the point of view of the competitive strength of the entire union, is to take better advantage of the enormous potential of women.

Another gender equality theme, discussed during Finland's Presidency, was the role of men in relation to equality, family, working life and the society. All round, men are expected to take up a more active role as fathers and in family life.

Women Journalists in Finland want to point out that even today, when the European Union speaks on a high official level, a 'human being' very often equals a 'man' and that male privileges are hidden in the framework as a matter of course.

Finland, so often presenting itself as a model country of gender equality, could have worked much more efficiently for the promotion of gender equality issues both within the European Union and in the world outside the EU.

Eeva Koskinen
Chairwoman / Women Journalists in Finland