Pass the Gender Roles

10.11.10 – Did you know?

• Finnish women became the first in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament in 1906.
• Finland’s first female President Tarja Halonen was voted into office in 2000 and for a second term in 2006.
• Women’s representation in Finland’s parliament stands at 38 %.
• In 2007 Matti Vanhanen’s second cabinet made history as for the first time there were more women than men in the cabinet of Finland.

It probably doesn’t surprise most people, Finland ranks high on gender equality. Most people are familiar with how Scandinavians have dealt with gender issues well before the rest of the world. Women have taken on more roles which have been traditionally male and vice versa.

I picked up Emma from an after school class and she asked if we could stop at the store to pickup some “hair things.” I thought she was looking for some kind of clip or band to hold her hair back. It turns out she was looking for rollers.

Once we got home, “Should I do them tonight?”

“Sure, why not? That’s why we got them.”

Five minutes pass. “Daddy, are you doing anything?”

Next thing I know, I’m in the bathroom trying to help her put her hair up in rollers. Not a big deal but I kept thinking in the back of my head, I don’t think I could see my father doing this when we were young. No offense dad! Times are changing and so will I.

I’m happy that my girl is growing up in such a progressive country.

Related Articles

• In Finland, a Mass Exodus from a Homophobic Church (gayrights.change.org)
• Making The Business Case For Gender Equality (forbes.com)
• Swiss women outnumber men in government (guardian.co.uk)
• Economix: On Gender Equality, It’s the Thought That Counts (economix.blogs.nytimes.com)

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