Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the banquet of the meeting of EU Equality Ministers on 6 October 2006

Centenary of full political rights for Finland’s women

This year in Finland, we are celebrating the centenary of universal suffrage. Before the reform, most men and all women were excluded from political participation. The political reform was exceptionally radical even in international terms. Finland was the first nation in Europe to give women the right to vote and the first in the world to allow them to stand for parliamentary election.

The first Parliamentary elections in Finland were held in 1907. All the major parties had women as candidates, and 19 of them were elected. This was 9.5 per cent out of the 200 Members of Parliament. Even now, one hundred years later, many nations in the world have yet to achieve even this level. In recent decades, women have entered all areas of the political arena in Finland – even if the gender distribution is still not quite equal. Of the Members of Parliament elected in 2003, 37.5 per cent were women; in recent Governments, some 40 per cent of the Ministers have been women.

There are probably a number of reasons why the status of women was fairly strong in Finland already one hundred years ago. One reason for this is that the conditions of the rough northern climate required hard work and solidarity from everyone – men and women – just to survive. Moreover, the independence movement unified the nation, making everyone involved. The active participation of women in the demands for universal suffrage helped gain political rights for all men too.

From the start, women in Finland have been deeply involved in promoting issues important for women and in building the Finnish welfare society. From the perspective of women, Finland remains a pioneer in some areas even today. The reconciliation of work and family life is easier here than in many other countries. This is made possible by the family leave system, the smoothly running public daycare system and free school meals. Finland and other Nordic countries are world leaders in maternity care and the birth rate in these countries is at a relatively high level by European standards.

Our education system provides equal chances for boys and girls. Girls do well at school, and Finnish women of working age are already more highly educated in general than men. Gender is no longer a career handicap. Gender equality, the welfare society and business success are closely connected. I strongly believe that the participation of women in working life boosts the competitiveness of our businesses and their international success.

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The European Union has come a long way on equality issues. We share the common view that gender equality is one of the fundamental values of our society and that women’s human rights are just as important as men’s human rights.

There is of course still much to be done in promoting equality, both in working life and elsewhere in our society. In this work, we must not forget the women in minority groups. Studies show that it is more difficult for immigrant women to integrate into society than for immigrant men. It is important that we take into account the special needs of women with immigrant backgrounds and women in other minority groups.

Gender equality is a very important issue in this increasingly globalized world; both good and bad things nowadays spread more quickly worldwide. Our sisters in many parts of the world are faced with extremely difficult problems. Violence against women in wars and other armed conflicts has in some places become more severe. Poverty very often wears a woman’s face.

Making use of women’s experiences and hearing their voice is vitally important both in the United Nations and in other international organizations. I believe that the contribution of women, for example to peace processes, will increase the potential for achieving sustainable solutions. In relation to the current situation in the Middle East, I have myself worked with UNIFEM, the UN women’s organization, to support proper dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women. We organised a special event in New York during General Assembly week to make this initiative more widely known across the international community.

Governments are responsible for ensuring respect for human rights, but we must all make a contribution to make change happen. Non-governmental organizations have a very important role to play in this respect. Their encouragement, support and practical examples have been decisive in improving the status of women in many developing countries.

The EU must emphasize the social dimension of globalization in its external relations and the importance of gender equality in promoting development. A decent job that allows one to support one’s family is for many women still a dream. The EU must move strongly to take forward the ‘Decent Work for All’ agenda in the international arena. We can also learn from experiences in developing countries. For example, we could make more use of micro-credits for women entrepreneurs here in Europe.