Ombudsman for Equality

Year 2008 in Brief

Visits at workplaces and educational institutions

The Ombudsman for Equality visited four workplaces in 2008. The goal was to promote equality planning and equality work.

The Ombudsman visited two educational institutions during the year. The purpose was to collect data on how the drafting of equality plans is carried out in practice in educational institutions as well as to enhance the drafting of plans.

Multiple discrimination

The Ombudsman for Equality organised the traditional theme seminar in October 2008. This time the seminar theme was multiple discrimination. The focus was on the manifestations of multiple discrimination and the legal challenges involved. This type of discrimination is often difficult to identify, and the legal safety of the individual is poor. The seminar goal was to broaden the debate on the issue and to ponder ways to deal with cases of multiple discrimination.

TransHelsinki Seminar

In the seminar, the Ombudsman for Equality insisted that the status of gender minorities is clearly included in the Gender Equality Act.

The Parliament Committee for Labour and Equality has stated that the Gender Equality Act applies to persons who have undergone a sex-change operation. The Ombudsman for Equality has interpreted the act so that it also applies to persons belonging to other gender minorities. At present the legislation makes no reference to a ban on discrimination against gender minorities.

Monitoring of discrimination bans

Most of the contacts to the Ombudsman in 2008 concerned working life. Especially suspicions of pay discrimination were common. The hopes that a more widespread introduction of pay surveys would reduce the need to contact the Ombudsman for Equality have not yet materialised. Pay surveys are carried out but they are superficial.

Employees request advice and opinion in case they think they have experienced pay discrimination. Suspicions of pay discrimination can concern both the job-specific pay component, i.e. the basic pay, or different kinds of benefits.

The Ombudsman for Equality comments primarily on legislative issues concerning the interpretation of the Gender Equality Act. The Ombudsman for Equality does not carry out any job evaluations, which is best done by courts of law.

Pregnancy and family leaves still a topical theme

Suspicions of discrimination in relation to pregnancy and family leaves are an issue that generates a lot of contacts to the Ombudsman for Equality. Concerns include the right of fixed-term employees to family leave and the status of persons on family leave in organisation reforms.

Gender Equality Act applies also to goods and services

The regulations of the Gender Equality Act regarding compensation and ban on counter measures were extended as of 1 January 2009 to also apply to goods or service providers as required by the EU. In effect discriminatory procedures may lead to sanctions and, as a last resort, to compensation claims in the court of law.

According to the new article in the Gender Equality Act, a provider of goods or service is deemed to act in a discriminating way if a person, because of his or her gender, is placed at a disadvantage when goods or services are provided. Providing goods and services for the other gender only is allowed only if the objectives are justifiable and the means appropriate.

Male perspective an integral part of gender equality

At times the Ombudsman for Equality is criticised for only advancing women's rights. The promotion of gender equality requires, however, also intervention in men's problems and improving the position of men.

One of the problematic issues has been the compulsory military service for men only. However, the Gender Equality Act specifically states that this does not constitute discrimination.

The Ombudsman for Equality has several times remarked that different retirement ages for women and men are against the Gender Equality Act.  Also supplementary pension schemes are illegal if the grounds for pension accrual are different for women and men.