The proportion of women in Finnish municipality councils lags behind national level
Source: DemoFinland
The good experiences and practices in women’s political participation in Finland, which is known for gender equality, are followed with an interest in Demo Finland’s programme countries. Demo Finland supports the political participation of women particularly at the local level in Zambia and Sri Lanka. In Zambia, the proportion of women in municipal councils is currently 9 percent, in Sri Lanka their share is almost a quarter after a law adopted in 2017 guaranteed a 25 percent quota for women. The current, predominantly female, Finnish government and the Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who has been prominently featured in the international media, have received amaze and admiration in many countries where the role of women in decision-making is still marginal.
The increase in women’s political influence in Finnish municipal politics has been a slow process. Women in Finland have had equal suffrage and eligibility in municipal elections since 1917 – more than 100 years. Yet, the proportion of women in municipal councils has never been above 40 percent. Currently, 39 percent of councilmembers are women. The share rose in the 2017 elections almost 3 percentage points from the 2012 elections, where the share of women had slightly declined. At the moment, 39 percent of municipal council chairs and 31 percent of municipal board chairs are women. The proportion of women elected to municipal councils varies from one municipality to another. Municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants have the lowest share, while in large municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants the share is almost half.
Click here to read the full article published by DemoFinland on 6 November 2020.
The good experiences and practices in women’s political participation in Finland, which is known for gender equality, are followed with an interest in Demo Finland’s programme countries. Demo Finland supports the political participation of women particularly at the local level in Zambia and Sri Lanka. In Zambia, the proportion of women in municipal councils is currently 9 percent, in Sri Lanka their share is almost a quarter after a law adopted in 2017 guaranteed a 25 percent quota for women. The current, predominantly female, Finnish government and the Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who has been prominently featured in the international media, have received amaze and admiration in many countries where the role of women in decision-making is still marginal.
The increase in women’s political influence in Finnish municipal politics has been a slow process. Women in Finland have had equal suffrage and eligibility in municipal elections since 1917 – more than 100 years. Yet, the proportion of women in municipal councils has never been above 40 percent. Currently, 39 percent of councilmembers are women. The share rose in the 2017 elections almost 3 percentage points from the 2012 elections, where the share of women had slightly declined. At the moment, 39 percent of municipal council chairs and 31 percent of municipal board chairs are women. The proportion of women elected to municipal councils varies from one municipality to another. Municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants have the lowest share, while in large municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants the share is almost half.
Click here to read the full article published by DemoFinland on 6 November 2020.