Men's Equality Association (Miesten tasa-arvo ry)
A politically and religiously independent Finnish NGO working for genuine equality between the sexes – including the equality of men and boys.
Who we are
Miesten tasa-arvo ry (MTA) was founded in 2009 and is based in Helsinki, with members throughout Finland. The association is not affiliated with any political party or religious community. Our board is elected annually by the members.
Our starting point is simple: equality must apply to men and women alike. In Finland, gender equality is still largely understood as improving the position of women, yet in many areas of life – education, health, military service, violence, custody and social exclusion – it is men and boys who are worse off. We bring these issues into public debate and into equality policy, based on official statistics and research.
What we do
- Influence public debate and Finnish equality policy so that the male perspective is taken into account on an equal footing.
- Issue statements and opinions to the media, authorities, ministries and Parliament.
- Organise lectures, seminars and panel discussions on men's equality issues.
- Collect, store and disseminate information, and promote research and publications on the equality problems of men.
- Publish the General Equality Index (YTI), which measures gender gaps in both directions – unlike the EU's Gender Equality Index, which leaves out most of the areas where men are disadvantaged.
Key facts about men in Finland
- Education: the gap between girls and boys in reading literacy is among the largest in the OECD (45 points in PISA 2022); boys' reading scores have fallen by 52 points since 2000. 47 % of women but only 32 % of men aged 25–34 hold a tertiary degree.
- Social exclusion: about two thirds of young people who are outside both education and employment are men.
- Military service: conscription applies to men only – 6 to 12 months of compulsory service, or civilian service of about a year.
- Health: men's life expectancy is about five years shorter than women's; three out of four suicides and practically all fatal workplace accidents are men's.
- Violence: two thirds of homicide victims are men, and men also experience intimate partner violence, which is rarely recognised in services or public debate.
- Family: after separation, children live with their mother in the great majority of cases.
Detailed figures with sources are available in Finnish on the page Tasa-arvon tilanne Suomessa and on the theme pages under Tasa-arvotietoa.
Statements and publications
Our statements and press releases (in Finnish) go back to 2009 and cover legislation, government programmes, education, health care, conscription, family law and the media. An RSS feed is available.
Join or support us
Membership is open to everyone regardless of gender. The annual membership fee is 30 € (reduced fee 10 € for students, the unemployed, conscripts and pensioners) plus a one-time joining fee of 10 €. You can join online or support our work by sharing our posts and speaking up.
Contact
Miesten tasa-arvo ry
Tallberginkatu 2 B, FI-00180 Helsinki, Finland
Business ID 3066753-5
Chair: Juuso Erno, juuso.erno@miestentasa-arvo.fi
Media enquiries: see Medialle. Follow us on Facebook.