Gender Mainstreaming in ESF and in national policies in Finland

1. Gender Mainstreaming in ESF and in national policies in Finland CoP on Gender Mainstreaming in the ESF Steering Group meeting 27.1.2012 Hillevi Lönn

2. Gender Equality – Challenges in Finland • Gender segregation of education and vocational careers -horisontal and vertical • Reconciliation of work and family life • paid work / unpaid work; atypical contracts; career breaks • Family leaves used mainly by women (92%) • Gender pay gap 18-20 %

3. ESF Operational Programme • Evaluation of programme period 2000-2006: ”Equality know how should be increased and the gender mainstreaming continued in determined and systematic fashion” • Operational Programme 2007-2013: ”Dual track strategy continued: = special eguality projects and GM as a part of all activities, at all levels and all phases” • ESF Aplication form: guestion if the project preparation consists of ”female and male viewpoints”! • ERDF:”equality” meaning besides gender equality the equlity of different minority groups • Definition of concepts

4. Practice - challenges • No proper guidelines, support, models or demands for GM, (exception: Valtava Development Programme) • 80% of ESF projects identify themselves as ”gender neutral” at starting phase • 40% of these projects say in 2010 evaluation that they further gender equality • Gender is not maintsreamed but dealt with in one operational line, also there as a separate issue • Evaluation: GM analysis to be developed (theoretical framework) • Former programme period: Managing Authority applied training of ESF staff in Employment and Economic Development Centres (distribution of ESF finances)

5. Valtava programme: Gender mainstreaming in line with Government policy Targets of Valtava: • Support gender mainstreaming in employment and the economy fields and adult education • Dismantle gender segregation of labour market and adult education • Increase knowledge and skills of authorities on gender and equality issues and promote their ability (skills) to rephrase targets into action and develop skills of gender mainstreaming evaluation

6. Targets… • Men are trained into women dominated fields / occupations and women into male dominated fields • Support entrepreneurship in ’non traditional’ fields • Support of women / men in pour labour market situation (under threat of unemployment, with no/low level of education, with background of only fixed term contracts etc.) Improve situation of special groups that face multiple discrimination (ethnic minorities, the disabled, handicapped, older people etc.) • Promote gender sensitivity among education planners, people who choose the participants and people working in careers counselling and people responsible for staff recruitment in organisations.

7. Target groups of the programme • 15 different projects under theme of GM in different parts of the country – project staff • Regional ESF authorities, enterprises, education institutions, NGO’s, consultation and training institutites, gender equality oragnisations • Managing Authorities • Indirect target groups: personnell of provincial federations and municipalities, employeesof employment officies

8. Valtava ”Support Structure” in Ministry offers: • Tailored training and consultation for project actors and provincial authorities, support for networking • Training for Managing Authority and regional authorities • Manual for gender mainstreaming in employment and economy administeration services • Compendium of good practices from 80’ies untill today • Gender impact assessment of structural funds decisions • Training pacage for gender mainstreaming • Developing GM strategy for Structural Funds (ESF) in cooperation with CoP on Gender Mainstreaming, transnational network funded by Commission…

9. Community of Practice on Gender Mainstreaming in ESF • Target: to produce an ESF standard on how to implement a gender perspective in all phases of ESF management …i.e. Gender Mainstreaminig should be an integral part of future ESF management /cycles from planning, programming, implementing to monitoring and evaluation Future goals for Finland: • Increased knowledge and understanding of GM (Managing Authorities, project actors, evaluators) • Gender equality perspective in OPs as well as in practice • Support structure for Gender Mainstreaming, using the network of Regional Authorities and network of GM specialists

10. GM and GE as Governmental Policy • Training of Ministry staff (including management) in GE and GM • Training of regional authorities of MEE (including ESF personnell) • Result steering of the institutes and officessubordinated to the MEE • Gender Impact Analysis of legislation preparation • Budgeting (GE perspective in state budget, tried to develope real gender budgeting) • Mainstreaming of gender in one or two lafge development programme of the MEE

11. New Governmental GE programme • GM is continued in the main processes on MEE • Chief secretaries of ministries (and ministers) deal with GM with regularity • Network of GE working groups of Ministries • Dismantling of segregation • Carrier development of women in state offices • Support structure for GM in ESF !! • Strategy for GM in ESF !!