The cornerstone of unity

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THE COALITION OF FIN
NISH WOMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS, 
NYTKIS 
It’s sometimes claimed that women supposedly aren’t able to network. Finnish women’s organisations show that 
the opposite is true. The history of Finnish feminism is characterised by a long tradition of collaboration between 
influential women. Already the first women MPs were very well networked when they were elected in 1907 as 
the first women MPs in the world, all having been active in various associations and many in the women’s 
suffrage movement.
In 1987, a group of feminists came up with the idea of an organisation that enables cooperation and 
collaboration between the women’s associations of all the parties in parliament. That was the origin of the 
umbrella organisation NYTKIS, the Coalition of Finnish Women’s Associations, first as a committee and then as 
a registered non-profit organisation. NYTKIS is an important promoter of gender equality in Finnish society. It 
monitors respect for women’s rights, takes a stand on social and political issues, and promotes the improvement 
of women’s status in society and the achievement of true gender equality.
It was already decided at the inaugural meeting in 1988 that the committee would strive to make decisions 
based on consensus. The presidency rotates annually from one member organisation to another, and each has 
the same number of representatives on the committee. The organisations that joined NYTKIS were, in addition 
to the women’s organisations of the parties in Parliament, the National Council of Women of Finland, the Unioni 
League of Finnish Feminists (no
w the Feminist Association Unioni), and the Association for Women’s Studies in 
Finland (now the Association for Gender Studies in Finland). The member organisations now have a total of 
470,000 members. NYTKIS also has local committees in 15 towns, and their work is also based on collaboration 
across party lines. There are only few countries where women’s organisations work together smoothly across all 
party lines. Every year, government officials and NGOs from different countries visit NYTKIS, and they almost 
always wonder at this ability to cooperate and collaborate. The common issues of NYTKIS members have 
however been easy to find since the commitment to collaboration is the basis of the organisation’s activity and is 
also promoted by the organisation’s structure. In fact, many of the main issues have already been on the agenda 
of Finnish feminists for over 100 years, for example the status of women at work, violence against women, and 
the promotion of the gender perspective in political decision-making.
NYTKIS represents women’s organisations in many Finnish organisations and government committees and 
also, for example, in the European Women’s Lobby, a large European umbrella organisation of women’s 
organisations. Every four years, as an important part of its international work, NYTKIS coordinates compilation of 
the shadow report of Finnish NGOs to the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 
(CEDAW), which monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
against Women. Good results have been achieved through the shadow reports; based on the NGO information, 
CEDAW has demanded that Finland report in more detail about its efforts to promote gender equality. CEDAW 
has in recent years especially criticised the slow reduction in the gender pay gap and insufficient efforts to 
reduce violence against women. 
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic 
violence, the so-called Istanbul Convention, entered into force in Finland in 2015, and NYTKIS and other 

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organisations are closely monitoring its implementation. It is indeed essential for NYTKIS to collaborate widely 
with other human rights organisations, the authorities, and, for example, the women
’s network in Parliament. 
Many hands make light work, especially in a small country. 
Johanna Pakkanen, secretary general of the Coalition
of Finnish Women’s Associations