Gender equality in focus also on Mother’s Day – Still time to make nominations for the International Gender Equality Prize
Mother’s Day is particularly important for us Finns, a day that is closely linked with our century-old country’s strong tradition as a promoter of gender equality. Established by the Government of Finland, the International Gender Equality Prize will be awarded for the first time in autumn. Nominations for the prize can still be made during May.
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, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä says.
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.
Inquiries: Special Adviser (International Affairs) Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, tel. +358 40 7483 867, anna-kaisa.heikkinen(at)vnk.fi ,
(prize) Paulina Ahokas, Chair of the competition jury, Managing Director of Tampere Hall, tel. +358 40 5511 551, paulina.ahokas(at)tampere-talo.fi ,
(equality affairs) Tanja Auvinen, Director, Gender Equality Unit, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, tel. +358 295 163715, tanja.auvinen(at)stm.fi ,
(Finland’s country brand) Petra Theman, Director for Public Diplomacy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs +358 295 351 558, petra.theman(at)formin.fi
Finland launches the International Gender Equality Prize – Government Communications Department Press Release 8.3.2017
Website of the International Gender Equality Prize (http://genderequalityprize.fi)
International Gender Equality Prize on Twitter (https://twitter.com/igepfinland)