Girls and young women propose solutions to strengthen equality and non-discrimination at Prime Minister’s roundtable

On 9 March, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo hosted a roundtable discussion with a group of girls and young women of immigrant background from various parts of Finland. The discussion focused on equality in working life and the effects of racism on young people’s wellbeing and hope for the future. 

“Every young person, regardless of their background or gender, needs support and encouragement to pursue their dreams both professionally and in everyday life. We still have discriminatory structures and attitudes in education, working life and society that need to be dismantled. I would like to thank the young women who participated in today’s discussion for their sharing their experiences candidly. Open and honest discussion is the best way to gain understanding and learn about challenges that need to be solved,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. 

More traineeships and anonymous recruitment could make it easier to find employment  

Young people described their experiences with barriers to employment, language skills requirements, lack of recognition of skills acquired abroad and various forms of racism in everyday life. The discussions emphasised the need to strengthen structural equality and invest in systematic work to combat racism.   

The participants also proposed solutions, such as encouraging young people to diversify their studies, increasing the number of traineeships and the use of anonymous recruitment, providing training on recognising racism, eradicating hate speech through legislation and creating safe meeting places.   

Preparations for the event began with a series of preliminary regional discussions held in Helsinki, Kuopio and Vaasa in February. These preliminary discussions were attended by 33 young people who highlighted Finland’s strengths – such as safety and security, education and freedom of expression – and key challenges, such as structural discrimination, economic uncertainty and the wide-ranging effects of racism. The observations made during the regional discussions formed a basis for the roundtable discussion.   

The Prime Minister’s roundtable discussion was held as part of the implementation of the Government’s action plan for combating racism. In line with the plan, roundtable discussions are held each year.  

Inquiries: Jouni Varanka, Head of Unit, Chair of the cross-administrative project group, tel. +358 295 160 177 and Katriina Nousiainen, Project Manager, Government project to promote equality, tel. +358 295 160 735, Prime Minister’s Office, [email protected]