Milestones of gender equality
The 19th century
1860 – The husband’s right to impose corporal punishment is no longer accepted in jurisprudence.
1864 – Unmarried women (at age 25) become legally competent and obtain full legal rights.
1878 – Equal hereditary rights for men and women.
1883 – The first mixed-gender school in Finland is founded.
1884 – The Finnish Women’s Association, calling for universal suffrage for women, is founded.
1886 – The first Finnish mixed-gender school in Finland is founded.
1892 – Unioni, The League of Finnish Feminists - now known as The Feminist Association Unioni, is founded.
1897 – Women become legally competent at the same age as men, 21.
The 20 th century
1900 – Suomen Työläisnaisliitto (“Finnish working women’s association") is founded.
1901 – Women obtain equal right to study in universities.
1906 – Finnish women are the first in Europe to obtain suffrage in national elections and the first in the world to obtain the right to stand as candidates.
1907 – The bourgeois Finnish Women’s Alliance is founded.
1907 – 19 women elected as the first MPs, many of them activists in various women’s organisations.
The 1910s
1911 – The National Council of Women in Finland is founded.
1917 – Women and men obtain universal suffrage in local government elections.
1919 – Married women obtain the right to engage in gainful employment without needing their husband’s consent.
The 1920s
1926 – The first female minister of Government: Miina Sillanpää, Assistant Minister for Social Affairs.
1926 – Act on women’s eligibility for state office.
1927 – Alma Söderhjelm becomes the first woman professor at Åbo Akademi.
The 1930s
1930 – A new Marriage Act takes effect: the guardianship of the husband over his wife is abolished and wives are given the right to own property in their own name.
1937 – The Maternity Benefits Act providing maternity grants is adopted.
The 1940s
1943 – Statutory school meals.
1944 – The act on prenatal and child health clinics.
The 1950s
1950 – Therapeutic abortion is legalised.
The 1960s
1961 – Usage of the contraceptive pill is accepted.
1962 – Finland ratifies the ILO’s Equal Remuneration Convention, calling for equal pay for work of equal value.
1965 – Women and men’s joint association Yhdistys 9 is founded.
1967 – A committee analysing the position of women is founded (1967–1970).
The 1970s
1967 – Final report by the committee analysing the position of women.
1970 – Women's share of elected MPs is higher than 20 percent for the first time
1970 – The Act on the Interruption of Pregnancy: abortion is allowed for social reasons.
1970 – The Employment Contracts Act prohibits discrimination.
1971 – Decriminalisation of homosexual acts.
1972 – Contraceptive services ensured by law.
1972 – The Council for Gender Equality (TANE) is founded.
1973 – The Day-care Act takes effect.
1973 – The first feminist women’s groups: Marxist-Feministerna and Rödkärringar (Puna-Akat).
1974 – Seta – LGBTI Rights in Finland is founded.
1975 – The UN International Women’s Year.
1975 – The Paternity Act and Child Maintenance Act: children born in and out of wedlock obtain equal rights.
1978 – The right for parents to divide parental leave among themselves.
The 1980s
1980 – The first Government Action Plan for Gender Equality.
1982 – The first female candidate nominated for presidential election – Helvi Sipilä (Liberal People’s Party).
1983 – Joint custody becomes possible.
1983 – For the first time, women's share of elected MPs is higher than 30 percent.
1985 – The Children’s Home Care Support Act; the terms maternity, paternity and parental leave are confirmed.
1986 – The Names Act, under which a woman getting married may keep her surname and the surname of either parent can be given to a child.
1986 – Finland ratifies the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
1986 – Women obtain the right to act as priests (the first female priests are ordained in 1988).
1987 – The Act on Equality between Women and Men is adopted (Equality Act).
1987 – The Act on the Ombudsman for Equality is adopted and the Equality Board is established.
1988 – NYTKIS – The Coalition of Finnish Women’s Associations is founded.
The 1990s
1990 – Children obtain the subjective right to municipal day care until age 3.
1990 – The first woman appointed as Minister for Defence – Elisabeth Rehn.
1991 – Fathers obtain a separate paternity leave (6 days), which does not reduce the parental allowance period.
1992 – The first woman elected as the director of the Bank of Finland – Sirkka Hämäläinen.
1992 – The first woman to be appointed the president of a university – Aino Sallinen (University of Jyväskylä).
1994 – Rape within marriage is criminalised.
1994 – The first woman to be elected Speaker of the Parliament – Riitta Uosukainen.
1995 – The quota provision and the principle of gender mainstreaming are included in the revised Equality Act.
1995 – Voluntary military service becomes a possibility for women.
1995 – Gender-based discrimination is prohibited in the revised Constitution of Finland.
1995 – The first woman appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs – Tarja Halonen.
1995 – Miessakit Association is founded.
1996 – Children obtain the subjective right to municipal day care until school age.
1999 – The Act on Restraining Orders.
1999 – The Penal Code’s provisions on the right to sexual self-determination are revised.
1999 – Abolishment of certain sexual offence provisions (including prohibitions on homosexual acts and adultery).
The 2000s
2000 – The first woman President of Finland – Tarja Halonen.
2000 – A general prohibition of discrimination included in the revised Constitution of Finland.
2001 – Act on Registered Partnerships.
2003 – “Daddy Month”
2003 – The first women appointed as captain in the Defence Forces – Mervi Pehkonen (Border Guard).
2003 – The first woman prime minister – Anneli Jäätteenmäki.
2004 – Assault in a private place becomes subject to official prosecution (petty assault remains a complainant offence).
2005 – Reform of the Equality Act.
2006 – First woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – Pauliine Koskelo.
2007 – Over 40 percent of female MPs for the first time; female majority in Finnish Government (60 percent).
The 2010s
2010 – The first female bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Irja Askola, Diocese of Helsinki).
2010 – The Central Association for Men’s Organizations in Finland is founded.
2011 – Transvestism eliminated from the classification diseases.
2011 – Even petty assaults in intimate relationships become subject to official prosecution.
2011 – Sexual intercourse with a defenceless party is specified as rape.
2011 – The first female Minister of Finance – Jutta Urpilainen.
2015 – Non-discrimination of gender minorities included in the Equality Act.
2015 – The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) enters into force.
2017 – Equal Marriage Act
2019 – Maternity Act
2019 – Child Marriage Ban
2019 – Alternating residence included in the Act on Child Custody and Right of Access.
2019 – The majority (54 %) of those elected in the European elections are women.
2019 – The first female European Commissioner of Finland – Jutta Urpilainen.
The 2020s
2021 – For the first time, women's share of elected members in local elections is higher than 40 percent.
2022 – The Non-discrimination Ombudsman appointed as the National Rapporteur on violence against women
2022 – 53 percent of councillors elected in the first county elections are women.
2022 – Family leave reform: in a two-parent family both parents receive 160 days of parental allowance
2023 – Revised legislation on sexual offences
2023 – Transgender legislation reform: the legal recognition of gender is separated from medical examinations and treatments
2023 – Abortion law reform
