This study exposes the Finnish public servants’ perceptions of gender equality in development cooperation. The findings are important for discussions of changes in attitudes towards gender equality, especially now when 25 years have passed since the World Conference on Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action in 1995. The Finnish experts’ tendency to create a distinction between Finnish and Namibian societies in terms of the level of equality should be paid attention to in order to avoid power hierarchies in the partnership since the two countries used to have development aid donor-recipient dynamics. Nonetheless, broad generalizations based on the findings of this research should not be done, since seven interviewees form quite a small group and the Namibian case is rather unique due to the long roots of Namibian and Finnish relations. This research discovers the Finnish perspective on a Finnish-African partnership. Considering the current interest of evolving partnerships with the African continent, especially when The European Union is aiming to shape equal partnerships between the continents, further studies germinating from my findings would be useful.
When it is asked how experts perceive equality in Finnish-Namibian development cooperation, I would suggest that equality meant the enhancement of women’s position, and they perceived equality differently in Finnish and Namibian contexts. My findings could be divided into two main segments: Finland as a country of equality, that offers its women opportunities to develop their careers as equal citizens among men. Secondly, when the informants spoke of the Namibian context, they presented the need of empowering women for example, which exposed that the informants considered Namibian equality as something less developed than the Finnish one. Most of the interviewees point several examples of inequalities in Namibia, but only a few present them in Finland, mentioning usually gender-based violence. Moreover, equality as diversity and difference were more often related to Namibia, whereas Finnish equality was merely characterized through the approach of similarity. According to the informants, the ideal of equality is embedded in the Nordic societies and the welfare model. Despite the initial aim to exclude the comparison of two countries, and focus on the Finnish perspective, the informants themselves reflected Finnish equality through comparison to Namibia. For this reason, it would have been crucial to interview Namibian public servants as well, to make the study more solid.
When the informants understood Namibian examples in terms of difference and diversity and related gender as similarity to Finnish women, they saw Namibian women as a more diverse and independent group, whereas Finnish women’s position was impacted by the social system of the welfare state. The experts' way to speak of Finnish women portrays them as somewhat equal individuals who live within a social system that aims to form its policies to favor women. Namibian women instead are in a more complex position, either as opponents of hegemonic, masculine supremacy, or individuals who are under an influence of intersecting social and political aspects. This distinction to equal and unequal societies reinforces hierarchy between the countries if equality is understood as an indicator of development.
Within Finnish gender equality, sexual and gender minorities are accepted, but their issues do not come to a personal level. Despite acceptance and support, ways to speak of gender and equality consist of heteronormative thinking and seeing gender through the men-women binary. To be equal, women should become more like men, having duties regarding productive work. They are the responsible ones of equality work in workplaces and aim to achieve career positions by trying to fit it into a gender-neutral category. Men were almost lacking from discussions, but they were mentioned in terms of assisting Finnish women to improve gender equality. Namibian women, in turn, needed the help of Finnish women, who empowered them by showing an example of an independent woman working abroad in high positions or organizing workshops to educate “southern sisters”.
In interviews, Namibian women were presented as subordinates of patriarchal social hierarchy and men-women binary, or inferior to social and political aspects such as ethnicity or disability, although sexuality was left on lesser emphasis. A similarity of Namibian and Finnish women was that the interviewees claimed their high level of political participation to be a success story of gender equality in both countries Highlighting this success determines the level of gender equality, whereas segregation in Finnish labor markets is mentioned but not broadly discussed. Interviewees highlighted more success stories than discussed critically of the deficits in Finnish society. I would question the experts’ perception of Finnish women’s position: How equal they are, if they need to become similar to men and fit into a gender-neutral category, and simultaneously speak for their position to be recognized as equal citizens?
The interviewees describe Finnish equality and consideration of gender in development cooperation through a similar pattern: they are evolving, and the welfare model is a breeding ground for both. Even if the welfare model is strongly based on the idea of genders as similar categories, experts perceived that gender mainstreaming, which involves the approach of gender as diversity, is important to apply in development cooperation. Would interviewees feel obliged to highlight current gender strategies, due to the reputation of Finland as an equality advocate? Overall, the welfare model’s impact on Finnish development cooperation labeled the discussions regarding Finnish equality, and the approach of gender and equality shifts from equality as similarity to diversity. When Finnish society changes, so does the welfare model. This study offers knowledge for further research which could explore how perceptions of gender equality can be positioned in the current social structures and economic systems.
In most of the interviews gender mainstreaming was considered to improve the position of women and men, whereas sexual and gender minorities were missing from discussions regarding mainstreaming. Since interviewees highlight the importance of mainstreaming gender in development, diversities should be considered as well, to avoid development interventions that create inequalities by ignoring certain minorities. Particularly because the informants were concerned about unintentionally fading gender out by mainstreaming it.
Interviewees' way to criticize gender mainstreaming happens through the division of Namibia and Finland: interviewees argued that their and Namibians ways to speak of gender and sexual minorities differed so notably, that applying gender mainstreaming in development interventions as it is done in Finnish society would not work in the Namibian context.
Within the approach of diversity, the interviewees presented both their personal opinions, and the official alignment of Finland in terms of development policies. Through the latter, they constructed an image of a Finnish nation as a country that values gender equality and supports gender and sexual minorities. Overall, if equality is something that “Finland and Finnishness is”, regarding interviews the progress of ‘doing equality’ is maintained by endorsing women’s careers, participation in decision making and showing Finnish example in Namibia. Despite their heteronormative personal approaches, interviewees claimed that it is important to consider gender and sexual minorities in the Finnish-Namibian partnership.
They illustrated that by speaking of diversity from the viewpoint of Finland’s development policies, even if sexuality was not included in the interview structure.
Based on the findings of my study, I would suggest that in developing Finnish gender equality, inequalities should be better recognized and discussed critically, to adjust national and development policies. It seems that fundamentally Finnish equality is a national question. According to Finnish experts, its manifestation and needs and actions to foster it are defined differently in Finnish and Namibian contexts. A future research direction would be to study global gender equality: does it exist and how is it perceived. Understanding perceptions of gender equality on a global level and the consistent definitions of it around the globe would offer a platform of discussion in international politics and development cooperation. Acknowledging the common way to understand gender equality can also help to see how the approach of gender and sexual minorities would be better applied to political dialogues and development cooperation policies.
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APPENDICES (3)
Appendix 1. Cover letter, and bulletin of the research and consent form
Cover letter
Helsinki, March/April 2019 To whom it may concern,
My name is Ira Luoto and I am studying at the University of Eastern Finland on Joensuu campus. My major is sociology in Border Crossings: Global and Local societies in transition master’s program.
I am doing a master’s thesis on “gender equality in international work between Finland and Namibia.”
My intention is to interview Finnish people related to relations between Finland and Namibia during and after the transition period in Namibia.
I hope you will participate in my research.
Supervisors:
Professor Laura Assmuth, Social policy, Department of Social Sciences Joanna Bunikowska, Doctoral Researcher, Department of Social Sciences
Yours sincerely, Ira Luoto
Appendix 1. Cover letter, and Bulletin of the research and consent form
Bulletin of the research and consent form
Research topic
Perceptions of gender equality in international work between Finland and Namibia.
The aim of the research
The study aims to find out how Finnish experts understand gender equality
in international work. The objective is to explore how perceptions of the implementation of gender equality goals have changed since the Namibian transitional period.
The course of the study
To collect data, people who work or worked in administrative organizations operating between the countries will be interviewed. For an interview, one should reserve a time of approximately one hour. The interviewee can stop it if he/she so wishes. The conversation will be recorded, and the recording is properly stored. The handwritten notes of the interviewer are also treated confidentially.
Voluntariness
Interviewees participate in the study of their own will and can interrupt it if they wish so.
Confidentiality, data processing and storing
The research material is handled and stored carefully and confidentially. Data on individuals in the material will not be disclosed to third parties. This applies to all communications, formal and informal, oral, electronic and written.
Data from subjects or other individuals appearing in the data are not used to their detriment.
The same applies to the interviewees’ background organizations.
The same applies to the interviewees’ background organizations.