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Finland hosts a high-level UN meeting in Helsinki

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Publication date 21.10.2016 14.57
Press release

Press release 199/2016
21 october 2016

Finland is strongly involved in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Promoting the position and rights of women and girls plays a key role in efforts to eradicate poverty.

Finland will host a high-level UN meeting on 25 October. The UN Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment explores solutions for harnessing women's skills and creativity in economic life.

The Foreign Ministry's Ambassador for Equality Issues Anne Lammila will host a lunch meeting, where addresses will be given by Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Chief Executive at Finland Chamber of Commerce, and Minna Sneck, Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Finance. The Finnish panelists in the evening session will be Managing Director of Picnic Companies Ann Wahlroos-Jaakkola, Chief Specialist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Salla Toppinen-Tanner, Senior Researcher at Statistics Finland Marjut Pietiläinen and Senior Officer at the Martha Organization Terhi Lindqvist. The session will be chaired by Caren Grown, Senior Director of the Gender Group at the World Bank

Representatives of the Panel will visit Finland to learn about successful Finnish women's experiences and about best practices of how to reconcile work and family life. Finland is one of the world leaders when it comes to equality. Women have participated fully in working life for a long time. Social policy solutions have enabled women's right to both work and family. For example, the Women Leaders Program, developed in Finland, has increased the number of women on boards of publicly-listed companies in Finland.

The UN Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment was set up by the UN Secretary-General in January 2016. Costa Rica's President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera and CEO of IKEA Switzerland Simona Scarpaleggia were invited to co-chair the Panel.

More information about the Panel

Inquiries: Anne Lammila, Ambassador for Equality Issues, tel. +358 50 466 0929, Piritta Kaartio, Administrative Assistant, tel. +35850 306 0003

The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are in the format [email protected].

 
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