HELSINKI: On International Women’s Day, March 8, Finland announces its new International Gender Equality Prize, highlighting the country’s role as a leader in gender equality issues.
According to details, the primary goal of the International Gender Equality Prize is to create a platform for the further promotion of gender equality across the world. To achieve this aim, the prize is given to “a distinguished defender and builder of equality,” as the organizers phrase it.
The winner of the award does not receive the prize money, but rather identifies an issue or action that advances equality, and the money goes toward that cause. The organizers hope that the choice of award winner, and that person’s actions, will exemplify how investments in equality support every society.
The International Gender Equality Prize is noteworthy partly because of its inbuilt notion of solidarity: The selection committee commits to creating and sustaining platforms for addressing issues of gender equality from different perspectives around the globe. The prize’s formal launch day is March 8, 2017.
The announcement of the inaugural winner and the award ceremony will happen at a later date.
