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Equality
Planning as a Tool to Promote Equality at a Workplace Level
Prepared by Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
Equality, a habit to aim for
Equality between women and men is a central socio-political target in
Finland. Both women and men should have equal rights, responsibilities
and real opportunities in all areas of society. Equality between women
and men does not however, mean that they should be treated exactly the
same. Gender differences should not lead to unequal status or treatment
in society. Equality will be achieved when society places equal value
and emphasis on the knowledge and skills of both women and men. The Act
on Equality between women and men is an important tool in the
achievement of this target.
The Act of Equality between Women and Men
The aim of the Act on Equality between Women and Men (8.8.1986/609) is to
prevent discrimination on the basis of gender/sex and to promote equality
between men and women and to this end, improve the status of women particularly
in working life. The Act requires that men and women must be afforded equal
opportunities for education and occupational achievement and advancement. It
also demands an even distribution of male and female members in state and
municipal bodies.
Section 6 of the Act identifies employer’s duties to promote equality.
Accordingly, each employer must promote equality between women and men within
working life both
systematically and purposefully. In order to promote equality in working
life, the employer must, with due regard to the available resources and other
relevant factors:
- act so that both women and men apply for vacancies;
- promote an equitable recruitment of women and men in various
jobs and create for them equal opportunities for promotion and
advancement at work;
- develop working conditions suitable for both men and women, and
facilitate the reconciliation of working life and family life for
women and men;
- ensure, as far as possible, that the employee is not subjected
to sexual harassment.
Section 6a of the Act presents concrete measures to promote equality
purposefully and systematically. “If an employer regularly employs a staff of
at least 30, the said employer must include measures to further equality between
women and men in the workplace within the annual personnel and training plan or
the action programme for labour protection.”
An equality plan can also be made separately. In order for the plan to carry
sufficient weight in the workplace, men’s commitment to the plan is necessary.
In fact, equality should be a common concern for both women and men.
The Ombudsman for Equality supervises and promotes the provisions of the
Equality Act by means of initiatives, advice and counselling. She/he gives
information about the Equality Act and its application and monitors the
implementation of equality between women and men in different sectors of
society, particularly in working life.
The Ombudsman for Equality has been active in promoting equality planning at
workplaces.
The idea is to show the positive aspects of equality planning. The question is
not about equality as such but about the work efficiency and well-being of
personnel, men and women alike.
Equality planning within workplaces
1) A basic survey to start with
An equality plan always concerns a specific workplace or a work organization. A
survey of the situation within the workplace is recommended as a basis for the
plan. The survey can deal with e.g. working conditions, job descriptions, the
proportion of men and women in various occupational groups and vacancies, both
horizontally and vertically, the wage system, staff training practices and the
use of family leave based on the national family policy.
Example
Reconciliation of family life with working life
Through various flexible working time arrangements or distance working, the
position of working mothers and fathers can be made easier. The objective is for
men to become more aware of their role as fathers and to benefit from the
opportunity to take family policy leave and flexible working hours. The most
common option taken by fathers has been paternity leave in connection with the
birth of a child. The average paternity or parental leave of fathers amounts to
15 days. To improve opportunities for both men and women to combine parenthood
and economic activity is important. Through workplace equality plans these
issues can be made more visible at workplace level.
Example
Sexual harassment and abuse at work
Sexual harassment or abuse violates the rights of women and men at work and
is always offensive and unwelcome to its victim. Sexual harassment lessens the
quality and amount of work done by the offender and the victim. Women’s risk of
falling victims of sexual harassment, violence or threats of it at work is
greater compared to that of men. Sexual harassment and abuse at work also
exacerbates the atmosphere of the workplace and weakens job satisfaction. The
equality plan should present concrete procedures and measures to combat sexual
harassment and abuse at work. Example
Equal pay for equal work
It is important to promote equality in the economic status
of women and men including equal pay for work of equal value. The
equal pay policy, included in the Equality Act, states that the
employer must provide equal pay for the same work and work of equal
value to both men and women. Work of equal value means that the key
requirements of a job (i.e., competence, responsibility, work load
and working conditions) are considered to be the same. In addition,
other elements of wages such as bonuses for performance or results
should not be discriminatory and they should also be assessed. The
equality plan in the workplace can act as a practical tool in this
respect.
2) Follow-up and information
At the beginning, a specific working group or one or more responsible people
should be named to monitor how the equality plan is implemented and how the
survey is being done. It is important to monitor what has already been achieved
and what remains to be done. The results must be reported to the management and
the whole staff. Information about the equality situation in the workplace is an
important part of the organization’s internal communication, which can also be
monitored by other means of working atmosphere surveys, for example.
3) Attitudes are still a barrier
In Finland, the big private companies, the major ministries and municipalities
as well as the large national institutions (e.g., the Finnish Institute of
Occupational Health, the Academy of Finland) have been pioneers in equality
planning. Lack of equality planning is most common within small companies, since
they lack sufficient motivation and/or resources for it.
In order to fulfil equality objectives, the employer must change his/her
attitudes obstructing equality. It is also important to understand the positive
aspects of equality in terms of better working atmosphere and better-motivated
personnel. The positive result is a well-functioning work organization which
yields good results and has an equal corporate culture strongly endorsed by the
company’s management, as well.
So far, equality planning has focused on the following issues at the workplaces:
- wage and wage structures;
- training and education policies;
- health & safety at work;
- staff participation in decision-making.
Example
The Finnish Academy’s equality plan
At the end of 2000, The Academy adopted an Equality plan to promote gender
equality in the science community by means of clearly defined measures, an
information campaign and systematic monitoring of the implementation of the
plan. The equality plan remains in force until June 2005.
According to plan, the minority gender should occupy at least 40% of all
research posts, experts’ positions and working group appointments. Where
applicants are equally competent and qualified for the post, preferences must be
given to the minority gender in the category of job holders concerned.
In practice, the implementation of the Equality plan is in the hands of the
equality working group. One of the tasks is the collection and analysis of data
on the breakdown of Academy’s research funding by gender. This data allows the
working group to assess whether the plan is working as expected and whether the
targets have been reached. The Equality Plan applies to all researchers funded
by Academy sources, but the Academy hopes to see the whole science community in
Finland to follow the example.
Example
City of Helsinki Equality Plan
The personnel equality plan establishes the principles and procedures to
which the City of Helsinki is, as an employer, committed in its systematic,
goal-oriented promotion of equality. The aim is to create a healthy working
organisation capable of equality, cooperation and further development, and of
producing good results in which equality is part of normal personnel policy. The
promotion of equality means better use of the City’s human resources. In order
to promote equality the City will:
- promote equal assignment of men and women to different
jobs and create equal opportunities for promotion;
- make the working conditions such that they suit both men
and women and allow both women and men to reconcile work
with family life;
- ensure that no employee is subjected to sexual
harassment and abuse at work.
Sources and references
Academy of Finland Equality Plan. Internet:
www.aka.fi
City of Helsinki Equality Plan. Internet:
www.hel.fi
Equality legislation. Internet:
www.stm.fi/Resource.phx/tasa-arvo/english/
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Internet:
www.ttl.fi
Men’s viewpoints on gender equality. Jouni Kempe (ed.) The Council for
Equality Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Publications on Equality 2001:6.
Women and Men in Finland. Statistics Finland. Gender
Statistics 2003.
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