Ombudsman for Equality

Year 2003 in Brief

Equality planning and discrimation on the grounds of pregnancy topics for discussion in 2003

Little gender equality planning at workplaces

In 2003, the work of the Ombudsman for Equality focused on gender equality planning. The Ombudsman conducted a study on the degree of implementation of gender equality planning at workplaces.

The Equality Act binds all employers which regularly employ a staff of at least 30 to make an equality plan to promote equality between women and men. The plan may be a part of the personnel and training plan, the action programme for labour protection or it can be a separate gender equality plan.

In summer 2002, a questionnaire on gender equality planning was sent to 200 randomly selected workplaces. Majority of the workplaces that participated in the study were in the private sector.

The response rate was 73.5. Equality planning was implemented in 27 percent of those workplaces that participated in the study. The obligation to make an equality plan seemed to be best fulfilled, at least formally, in workplaces with over 500 employees. There were no great differences between different branches in the implementation of equality planning.

The study shows that there seems to be confusion about the importance of equality planning and that the existing plans often lack in concreteness. The division of jobs and tasks into women's and men's work was mentioned as a reason for not considering equality planning as important as well as for experiencing the planning cumbersome. Several respondents argued that since no discrimination has occurred at the workplace, there has been no need for an equality plan. The majority of the respondents (67 percent) considered, nevertheless, that equality planning has generated positive changes, especially in changing attitudes. 19 percent of the workplaces had some guidelines in case of sexual harassment.

Employers are not allowed to ask about pregnancy or parenthood

Pregnancy and parenthood are still a problem at workplaces. In 2003, the Equality Ombudsman received many inquiries about whether the employer in a recruitment situation is allowed to ask the candidate about pregnancy, plans to have children or family responsibilities. In late autumn a bulletin was published where the Ombudsman for Equality emphasised that the employer is not allowed to ask the candidate about pregnancy or her/his family.

Questions about pregnancy in a recruitment situation place women in a clearly unequal position in the labour market compared with men. To ask the candidate about pregnancy in a recruitment situation is inappropriate and enables discrimination against an individual. To ask about pregnancy may cause a presumption of discrimination on the grounds of sex and in such cases the employer must provide evidence that pregnancy has not influenced the decision of employment. The Ombudsman for Equality considers that if it is necessary for reasons of labour protection, the pregnancy and the labour protection measures it causes can be established after the decision has been made, following an evaluation of competence and suitability, to employ a certain person.

Meetings, visits, lecturers

Nordic Ombudsmen for Equality met in Helsinki

The traditional annual meeting of the Nordic Ombudsmen for Equality was held in Helsinki in September. Views were exchanged and new developments in the field of gender equality during the year were related in the meeting.

The Danish Equality Board, which initially was to be temporary, has been made permanent. Greenland, on the other hand, received its first own Equality Act in April.

In Iceland the focus had been on gender equality problems that are related to parenthood. New legislation had come into effect that divided parental leave into three three-month long periods. One period was meant for the mother, one for the father and the third for either the mother or the father.

In Norway, the Equality Ombudsman is monitoring the guidelines in case of sexual harassment of all the institutions of higher learning during 2003 as well as studying the amount of women working part-time in the field of health care.

The Swedish delegation told about their campaign to combat discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy. The campaign emphasis had changed to projects that aim at the reconciliation of work and family. The Swedish Equality Ombudsman had conducted an extensive study on the employers' legal obligation to conduct a pay survey.

Labour market leaders visited the Ombudsman

The Equality Ombudsman has already for years kept close contact with the labour market organisations. In November 2003, the leaders of the Central labour market organisations and the Ombudsman for Equality met on the invitation of the Ombudsman to discuss equality issues in working life.

The organisations were concerned about the equal pay programme of the Finnish Government. The representatives of the organisations emphasised that pay issues belong to the core activities of the labour market organisations. All participants of the meeting agreed that the labour market organisations are the primary implementers of equal pay.

Also temporary employment and the ways in which gender equality policy supports the renewal of the work force were discussed in the meeting. Young women and families are afraid of having children because the family's economic situation is uncertain.

Ombudsman for Equality visited workplaces

In order to promote gender equality planning, the Equality Ombudsman aims at visiting different kinds of workplaces in different parts of Finland. In 2003, the visits concentrated on workplaces in the North of Finland.

Lapland's problem is that unemployment continues to be high and the negative net migration is also high. Especially the unemployment of men has been affected by changes in the industrial structure. Another problem is how to persuade women to stay in Lapland. On the other hand, the service branch provides already at present more and more jobs for women in particular.