Finland introduces Gender Equality award

The Mother’s Day was observed on Sunday in the country as elsewhere in the world with the view to establish a society of gender equality.

The government announced that the International Gender Equality Prize will be awarded for the first time in autumn. Nominations for the prize can still be made during May, said an official press release.

The International Gender Equality Prize aims to promote gender equality, support international dialogue on equality and celebrate Finland’s 100 years of independence.

“We can be proud of our egalitarian society, where women have historically played an active role in working life and as decision-makers. Through this prize, we want to strengthen appreciation for gender equality also in other countries around the world,” said Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.

The Prime Minister announced the launch of the International Gender Equality Prize on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2017. The prize will be awarded to a person or actor who has promoted gender equality in an internationally recognised way.

The prize includes a monetary award that the recipient, however, does not receive for their own use but instead identifies a concrete cause that strengthens the position of women, to which the prize money will be granted. The prize will be awarded in cooperation with the City of Tampere.

This year’s prize amounts to EUR 150,000 and is being financed from development cooperation appropriations. The recipient of the prize will be nominated by a competition jury appointed by the Prime Minister's Office. This year the composition of the jury is: Paulina Ahokas, jury chair, Managing Director of Tampere Hall; Pekka Timonen, General Secretary for the Centenary; and Rosa Meriläinen, author and researcher.

The public, both at home and abroad, can propose entrants to be considered for the prize by the jury on IGEP website The deadline for proposing entrants is the end of May.