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Controlling climate change and developing sustainable solutions have been selected as the themes for the Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers next year.
Gender differences may be found in behaviour and choices in areas such as traffic, consumption, diet and waste handling. If we know, for example, that women form the majority of users of public transport, we can focus on men in our efforts to promote the use of public transport. If we know that men are better at recycling waste, we can seek to train women to do so, too.
The gender equality sector seeks to identify and improve gender-sensitive solutions as part of the curbing of and adaptation to climate change. In this, we need further information on correlations between gender and sustainable development and climate change. This information will help us discover better and more lasting solutions to the problems we face.
In the area of gender equality, this Presidency will introduce a new Nordic cooperation programme for gender equality for the next four years. This will help diversify cooperation on gender equality between the Nordic countries. The four principal themes of the programme are the labour market, training, ethnic minorities and gender-based violence. Mainstreaming the gender viewpoint and considering the male perspective in gender equality policy are the overarching themes of the programme.
The labour market and training are traditional gender equality themes: in these areas, we find attitudes and other obstacles hindering the career progress of women and their full participation in working life. As the population is ageing and the number of taxpayers decreasing in the Nordic countries, it will be interesting to see how the gender equality viewpoint will be featured in the public debate on extending working careers. Ethnic minorities and gender-based violence represent a more modern brand of gender equality policy, even though the problems addressed here are by no means new.
Ethnic minorities are also subject to multiple discrimination, which sometimes makes it difficult to process matters in our occasionally somewhat one-track government administration. Violence, on the other hand, must always be condemned in any shape or form.
The cooperation programme also highlights the male theme, which is highly topical in Finland and in the Nordic countries in general. The gender equality problems faced by women have not been fully solved – far from it, if we consider the situation globally. However, we remain convinced that it is also necessary to strengthen the male viewpoint in gender policy and to encourage men to take up gender equality aspects in their own matters as well as in matters concerning women. Gender equality policy is about genuine attempts of women and men to establish equality together.
Nordic gender equality policy is of worldwide interest. We consistently rank at the top of various equality surveys, and we are consulted on how to build an effective gender equality policy. Although solutions implemented in one country rarely work in others without modification, we are more than happy to help if others wish to draw on our experiences and adapt our tools for their use.
Of course, we still have a lot to do ourselves, and we have a lot to learn from other countries, too. However, the Nordic countries present a clear message: gender equality is a worthwhile investment, as it is a vital factor in the success and wellbeing of a nation; perhaps even the precondition for it.
Stefan Wallin is Minister of Gender Equality Affairs in Finland. 2011 Finland is chairing the Nordic Council of Ministers.
This article was first published in NIKK magasin 3 2010 © NIKK.
