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(31.12.2011)
First court ruling on discrimination against transsexual employee
A transsexual employee may not be treated so as to put him/her at a disadvantage in the workplace.
In December 2011, the Helsinki District Court ruled that the Financial Supervisory Authority had violated the non-discrimination provision in the case of a transsexual employee. The employee, who had undergone male-to-female gender reassignment, was awarded EUR 15,000 in damages as compensation for the discrimination. The court ruled that the extension of the application period for experts in connection with reorganisation was wholly in violation of the Equality Act. In all other respects, a presumption of discrimination was ruled not to have arisen in the case.
The Ombudsman for Equality issued a statement on the matter earlier, in June 2011.
Summary of the statement: Discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment (pdf, 16 kB) -
(13.09.2011)
Annual Report of the Ombudsman for Equality 2010 has been published
The Ombudsman for Equality received a lot of contacts from people during 2010. Most often the reason for contacts was still discriminatory situations in working life. It appears that discrimination based on pregnancy and parenthood has become a lasting problem on the Finnish labour market.
The promotion of gender equality was monitored at workplaces and educational institutions; at educational institutions the monitoring was mostly aimed at the upper secondary level. The survey discloses that there are considerable defects in gender equality plans in particular as regards the provision of the Equality Act that the plan must be drawn up in cooperation with the personnel and students.
Gender equality issues regarding persons belonging to gender minorities were an important part of the work of the Ombudsman for Equality in 2010. Together with occupational safety authorities the Ombudsman issued, for instance, a recommendation that new testimonials of service should be given after reassignment of a person's gender.
Annual Report 2010 by the Ombudsman for Equality in English:
Annual report 2010 (pdf, 1243 kB) -
(07.06.2011)
Ombudsman for Equality: the new Parliament must safeguard the status of gender minorities
Gender minorities continue to struggle to achieve equality and human rights in Finland and in Europe. This was the conclusion of the seminar Equality and Human Rights of Gender Minorities, organised on Thursday by the Ombudsman for Equality. -
(17.02.2011)
Fathers have a right to parenthood, too – even after divorce
"Time has overtaken the legislation relating to parenthood. This is illustrated by the number of fathers contacting my office who have felt themselves to be unwanted," said Pirkko Mäkinen, Ombudsman for Equality, in her speech on Thursday in Tampere. The occasion was the open forum for the project known as ‘Tasa-arvoa erovanhemmuuteen - isät pois paitsiosta' (‘Equality in divorced parenting - fathers in from the cold').
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(20.11.2010)
Transgender people increasingly turn to the Ombudsman for Equality
Provisions regarding discrimination against gender minorities and promotion of equal status for them in society must be entered in the Equality Act. This point was made by Pirkko Mäkinen, the Ombudsman for Equality, in her speech at the TransHelsinki seminar on Saturday, 20 November 2010.