CGED Knowledge Exchange Series

Gender Equality in Finland and the EU: Successes and Challenges

Speaker: Johanna Karanko, Consul-General of Finland to Hong Kong and Macao

Moderators:

Teele Rebane and Bidhya Shrestha, Gender Studies Majors, School of Humanities, HKU

Li Chong, German Programme, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, HKU

Date: 9 March 2021 (Tuesday)

Time: 5:00 PM

Delivery: via Zoom

Click here for a link to the Zoom recording.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. All countries agreed in 2015 to ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life by 2030. Finland has been leading the way in gender equality with other Nordic countries for decades, and is today one of the most equal countries in the world. While many glass ceilings have been broken, there is still room for improvement. In this talk, I will be addressing the following issues:

What does gender equality in political and economical decision-making mean?
How is technology challenging positive development towards gender equality?
What can we do as future leaders to advance gender parity?

Johanna Karanko is the Consul-General of Finland to Hong Kong and Macao. She has previously been posted to the Permanent Representations of Finland to the UN in New York and in Geneva, as well as to the Finnish Embassies in Paris and Caracas. At the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, she has served as Director for Sustainable Development and Climate Policy, led the World Bank Team, and worked with EU Affairs. She is a career diplomat, who joined the Foreign Ministry in 1996. She holds an MSc (Econ) degree from the Hanken School of Economics and Business Administration in Finland and a diploma from the prestigious Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in France.

This event is organized with the support of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao, as well as the HKU Gender Studies Programme, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Women's Studies Research Centre, and Centre of Development and Resources for Students at the University of Hong Kong.