An equal music industry

Act on Equality between Women and Men, Non-discrimination Act, and background information for equality and non-discrimination planning:

Act on Equality between Women and Men

The objectives of this Act are to prevent discrimination based on gender, to promote equality between women and men, and thus to improve the status of women, particularly in working life. Furthermore, it is the objective of this Act to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. (Act on Equality between Women and Men, 1987; last revised 2015)

Preliminary study on gender equality in the music sector, commissioned by Music Finland (in Finnish)

Non-discrimination Act

The purpose of this Act is to promote equality and prevent discrimination as well as to enhance the protection provided by law to those who have been discriminated against. […] No one may be discriminated against on the basis of age, origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, opinion, political activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health, disability, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics. (Non-discrimination Act, 2015)

Guidelines and examples for non-discrimination planning (in Finnish):

yhdenvertaisuus.fi

Guide to non-discrimination planning (in Finnish)

Examples and suggestion for action:

• Highlight diverse persons and stories in the music sector.
• Acknowledge the diversity of individuals working with music in our written, oral and visual communications.
• Avoid labels that foster inequality. Do not use prefixes or qualifiers that refer to gender, origin, age or other personal characteristics, and do not refer to such characteristics if not necessary and strictly relevant to the matter at hand.

Examples and suggestions for action:

• We guarantee all our employees a safe workplace environment and take immediate action if any discrimination, sexual harassment or workplace bullying occurs.
• Our recruitment ads are public and open to everyone.
• We always consider on a job-by-job basis whether the person hired needs to have fluent Finnish; if not, we will publish the recruitment ads also in English and/or in other languages.
• Principally, we pay employees the same pay for the same work. Pay may depend on the employee’s experience and responsibilities and educational attainment, but pay may not be influenced by the employee’s gender, age, origin, nationality, native language, religion, beliefs, opinions, political activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health, disability, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristics.
• We support our employees in their various life situations and are flexible with regard to personal decisions such as the taking of family leave.
• We encourage our employees to pursue career advancement equally and fairly, irrespective of their gender, age or background.
• We highlight the values of our organisation in our recruitment communications.