Message by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the HeForShe Summit on 27 May 2021

Excellencies, distinguished guests all around the world,

Achieving gender equality requires action and commitment from all of us. It has been a true honor for me to be a part of this important work as a HeForShe Impact Champion.

We urgently need to improve the position of women and girls. But to get things right, we should not think about equality of women and equality of men. What is important is equality, full stop. Adopting this type of a mindset is a starting point for positive development. It can help us truly achieve equality in practice.

In the next five years, Finland will be a leader in the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation. We want to bridge the gender digital divide. We want to bring more women in technology as agents of change.

A more equal, diverse and inclusive technology is central to women’s economic empowerment. It will also make technology a more powerful asset for all of us. This is what HeForShe and Generation Equality are all about. I will continue to advocate and advance this agenda.

Thank you.