Statement regarding the Social Security Committee's report on the social security reform (Ombudsman for Equality, TAS 189/2023, issued on 23.05.2023)

The Ombudsman for Equality has issued a statement regarding the intermediary report of the Social Security Committee (issued by the Government, record no. VN/1646/2020 vp). The committee has a working term of two government terms and it is tasked with the preparation of the social security reform.

The Ombudsman for Equality finds that promoting gender equality should be introduced as one of the starting points of further preparatory work.

The reform's gender impacts must be assessed

The Act on Equality between Women and Men (609/1986) sets forth that authorities must promote equality between women and men in all their activities and must create and consolidate administrative and operating practices that ensure the advancement of equality between women and men. The Ombudsman for Equality considers this duty of advancing equality an essential approach in the social security reform.

The Ombudsman for Equality is in favour of the intermediate report's proposal that the assessment of gender impacts should take place in the preparation of guidelines for standardising and merging basic social security and its benefits. It is essential that the guidelines of the social reform and relevant proposals are assessed from the viewpoint of gender equality. 

The assessment must be carried out for the purpose of the duty to promote equality, which is laid down in the Constitution of Finland.  The realisation of equality in practice must be set as a goal. The intersectional viewpoint must also be taken into consideration as a part of the assessment, as this means that other factors defining an individual are considered. 

Diversity of families

The Ombudsman for Equality endorses the clarification of family concepts of social security legislation, as proposed in the intermediary report, and the impacts of their standardisation with regard to genders and gender equality.  

Family types are more diverse than the legislation at present understands, which means that the social security reform and construction of the authorities' services must take into account the diversity of various life situations and families. The status of shared parenting families should be improved with regard to social security to support equality in parenting.

The report includes a proposal for a study to establish if the benefits system works appropriately with regard to people with low income and families with children facing poverty, and the Ombudsman for Equality finds this work important. The Ombudsman for Equality similarly considers it important that the benefits system is examined from the viewpoint of diverse family types. Furthermore, the assessment of impacts of children of the proposals is a good idea. 

Capacity and incapacity to work

The average pay gap between women and men is significant and one of its reasons is that women and men take positions in the different levels of hierarchy in the labour market with different demand levels. This is also reflected in the unemployment benefits paid to women and men. The challenges related to the work and family life balance impact the employment rate and participation in the labour market, in particularly due to the gendered nature of care. In this context, the Ombudsman for Equality wants to highlight, again, the importance of gender impact assessment.

The intermediate report proposes that the needs for reform in the labour market subsidy in situations where there are complications in the access or return to the labour market should be studied. The Ombudsman for Equality finds that the factor of gender should be discussed when the issues connected to the access and return to the labour market are addressed as a part of this study. Discrimination due to pregnancy can be manifested as difficulties in returning to work after a parental leave, for example. Also men are increasingly subjected to discrimination due to parental leaves.

Equality in education and participation

The intermediate report indicates that the benefits systems should contribute to continuous learning and equality of participation of people. The education choices of young people are very visibly divided by gender. It is the opinion of the Ombudsman for Equality that in the social security reform, special attention should be paid to measures that could help to tear down the segregation associated with educational choices and by so doing, promote gender equality.  Offering young people information and guidance about further education is of very important.
Clear differences in learning results by gender can be detected. The Ombudsman for Equality considers it important that the possible reforms seek to support those who are most vulnerable and need support and their possibilities to make choices that will contribute to finding work and securing their future. 

The Ombudsman for Equality also agrees with the intermediate report's proposal for a study on the social security of young people. The gender impacts of the reforms on educational policy that were carried out in recent years would be an interesting topic of study for this project.

It is alarming how inequality is increasing in education, and social exclusion is also an alarming phenomenon. The Ombudsman for Equality wishes to advocate for better possibilities for unemployed persons to study without losing their right to unemployment benefits and promoting their opportunities.

The full statement is attached (in Finnish).

27.06.2023