Authors

• National Institute for Health and Welfare. Centre for Gender Equality Information
• Statistics Finland

Keywords

attitudes, domestic responsibilities, education, equality between the sexes, family roles, gender role, household budgets, occupational life, parental leave, paternity leave, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, women's role, work-life balance

Abstract

The survey focused on attitudes, opinions and experiences related to gender equality in different spheres of life in Finland. The main focus was on equality in working life, education and family life.

Questions investigated opinions on the general status of men and women in Finland, estimates for gender equality development in the following 10 years, whether the respondents thought there should be more men or women in certain positions or occupational fields (e.g. in positions of power, in social and health services, ICT), and whether women's possibilities were equal to men's in occupational life. Attitudes were charted on gender roles in the family in terms of money matters and domestic responsibilities, gender roles in politics and in decision-making in different spheres of politics, and ways to reduce unjustified wage differences.

Full-time students were asked about their gender-related experiences in study, for example, whether there was gender stereotyping in study materials or in the educational institution, whether a clear majority of students in their field consisted of men or women, did gender affect student treatment or grades, strictness of gender roles/norms in the institution, support for choosing a study field where the respondent's gender was a minority, and whether sexual minorities and rainbow families were taken into account in teaching or teaching material.

Other questions investigated occurrences of sexual harassment and hate speech, kinds of harassment, the perpetrators and the context. The respondents were also asked whether there were people who depreciated or belittled their speech or suggestions on account of their gender and who. A number of questions investigated whether gender affected the wage level, fringe benefits, work loads, career advancement, job contracts, autonomy at work etc. in the workplace and whether gender was a hindrance in entrepreneurship and in what kind of situations. Further topics included attitudes in the workplace relating to absences of men and women due to family matters or paternal leaves, division of caring and other household tasks in R's family and who paid what in the household.

Background variables included the respondent's age group, gender, region of residence (NUTS3), highest education attained, status in employment, economic activity, occupational status, number of employees R supervised, type of employment contract, average weekly working hours, whether R belonged to a minority group, type of minority group, living arrangements, marital status, gender of the spouse, spouse's economic activity, number and ages of children aged under 18 in the household, how often R met his or her children who lived elsewhere. For students, type of educational institution.