Recent EU recommendations for sport call for a 50% quota for women in decision-making bodies. The use of quotas would also provide a way to measure progress, as progress has stalled.
Setting equality as one of the criteria for allocating grants may be the fastest way to strengthen gender equality in Finnish sports organizations, it was assessed at a discussion event held in Helsinki on Tuesday. At present, less than a third of the board seats in organizations are held by women, and only 16 per cent of union chairmen are women.
Finland lags far behind Sweden and Norway in terms of women’s participation. Neighboring countries have gender quotas in place and the experience has been good.
– Diverse government bodies make better decisions, reminded the former Minister of Sports, Deputy Mayor of Helsinki Paavo Arhinmäki.
The ethical activities and good governance of the organizations have been on the agenda this spring, especially because of the uproar over the Olympic Committee. Cases of harassment and the functioning of the administration are under investigation, and lessons need to be learned. It will not work very well without changing structures.
– You have to do as you say and speak, emphasized the CEO, who will start at the Olympic Committee in early June Taina Susiluoto.
She is one of the breakers in the glass roofs of sports, as women are still the exception in the top management of sports organizations. Susiluoto is in favor of gender quotas in the administration, although she admitted that she did not want to be a quota woman at the beginning of her career.
– Now I think that if you want to speed up something, you can do it with quotas, Susiluoto said.
The debate emphasized that, in addition to gender quotas, sport as a whole should be remembered. Is it possible to find a spectrum of different people involved in the activities, so that decisions are not made only for a specific target group of sports?
Grant momentum for reform
Money is often the best tool for accelerating reform. President of the Biathlon Association Kalle Lähdesmäki suggested that the weight of equality in the general grants of organizations distributed by the Ministry of Education and Culture could be 30%. The biathlon association has increased the share of women in decision-making, although according to Lähdesmäki it has not been a path to the chairman’s favor.
The recent Minister of Science and Culture also trusted the steering force of the money Petri Honkonen (center).
– NGOs need impetus from the government to make the change happen, Honkonen pointed to the possibility of emphasizing equality as a basis for assistance.
In sports organizations, the male majority in decision-making is often justified by the fact that women do not apply for jobs in the sector or seek positions of trust. The project manager of the Confederation of Women’s Organizations, who organized the discussion on Tuesday Nina Kaipio hopes that organizations will reflect on what has caused this situation.
– It is not possible to think about what kind of image people have got about the operating culture of organizations. It is alarming if the tasks are not of interest, Kaipio told STT.
Kaipio has a long experience of sports organizations, having worked in sports for almost 15 years: the Equestrian Association, the Olympic Committee and the Regional Sports Association of Southern Finland Sports and Sports (ESLU).
Quotas as a means of measuring progress
The European Union’s gender equality recommendations for sport, published in March, call for a 50% gender quota in all decision-making bodies. Quotas would also provide a concrete way to measure the achievement of equality. Otherwise, it is easy for lofty principles to remain the jewels of strategies and not appear in everyday life.
– If there are no indicators, the goals will easily float, Kaipio said.
In the opening remarks of Tuesday, President Tarja Halonen recalled that the mere use of quotas for recruitment is not enough, but that there must also be a competitive salary and career prospects.
Kaipio emphasizes good management in the activities of sports organizations, which also includes equality issues. Cases of harassment by the Olympic Committee and their follow-up have suggested that there has been a lack of good leadership at the highest organizational level in sport. Leaders also need to be trained, and if their own skills are not enough, expert help is available.
– Not all answers are always known in your own bubble, Kaipio emphasized.
Kaipio said he was well aware that sports organizations operate with limited resources, and running everyday life easily takes resources. Yet organizations should remember that all activities should be based on responsibility.
– Responsibility work must be reflected in the budget and everyday life. It can’t be that someone is appointed to be in charge of good governance, but then he doesn’t have the time or the money to do that job, Kaipio said.
Good governance produces results
Good governance and equality do not rule out the success of the organization in sport as well, such as the chairman of the Paralympic Committee who took part in a panel discussion on Tuesday Sari Rautio reminded.
– Equal activities and democracy also lead to better sports success, Rautio assured.
The title of the discussion was Let’s do more, do better. Specialist researcher at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences Kati Lehtonen pointed out that the situation with regard to equality had stalled for years.
– Exercise and sports do not have to do more and better, but what was set as a goal 30 years ago, Lehtonen said.