Women in charge Women’s political breakthrough starts with Finland by Felicia Vigliotti

The fight for gender equality started many years ago, but it is only in recent years that we are beginning to see results. Because of that, we need to celebrate every single step forward.

Sanna Marin at the Council of European Union

© Council of the European Union

We are at the beginning of a new decade and, in the first days of the year, we sum up what happened in the previous months. For Europe, who is going through one of the most difficult moments in its history, there is one good piece of news in 2019. Finland elects the youngest woman prime minister in the world. The Finnish Social Democrats have chosen Sanna Marin as the political leader. Therefore, the young woman is leading a coalition of five parties, all led by women. The most striking thing about Sanna Marin is her background: raised by two mothers in one of what we might consider a “rainbow family”, she was the first of her family to get a degree. Growing up in the suburbs of Helsinki, she had several jobs before starting her political career in 2013, not even 30 years old. The girl next door becomes Prime Minister while belonging to some of the less protected categories. A woman and

“Finland will not be finished in four years, but it can get better. That’s what we’re working on. I want to build a society where every child can become anything, and every person can live and grow in dignity.”

— Sanna Marin.

neo-mum astonished the world and, as a result, people all over the world have done nothing but talk about her for weeks. The topics she cares about are those that gave her consensus among the younger sections of the population: environment and welfare. For years, Sanna Marin has benefited from the government aids that made it possible for her to study and become the person she is today. After her election, she said that she wanted to ensure that all young people in Finland had the same opportunities. As we know, Finland is one of the most advanced European countries in terms of welfare and gender equality. It is not surprising that it is the first country with a government whose top

Finnish government presentation © Sanna Marin’s Instagram

positions are held by women. In Finland, there were women in the government while in other (equally advanced) European countries women were not yet allowed to vote. Sanna Marin is not alone at the head of the government, being able to count on an all-female and mostly under 35 government team. The path towards total equality undertaken by Finland is unique: this Northern European country has always proved to be a “pioneer” of equality. Finland, as a country, has understood that the fight against the demographic decline, that is depopulating it, passes through young people. Young people best represented by a group of women who are a breath of fresh air at a time when the whole of Europe is undergoing nationalist and sovereigntist movements. This story of victory teaches us, as people, how much further there is to cover and what the watchword is: possibility. As soon as every human being, without distinction of gender, will be able to become what he or she wants, a world of opportunities will open up. Today we are here to celebrate this young woman, who can lead a country and present herself to the world without fear. Because from today forward her age or gender will not be the basis of her achievements, but rather how much she will be able to do for Finland. Example! That’s what this event shows us combined with the awareness that the status quo has to be overturned, overthrown, fought. Every step forward in gender equality must be celebrated and reported because it is the outcome of years of struggle and achievements. An old chinese proverb said, “Every journey begins with a single step”, so we just have to start walking.