Hey, a couple of months ago I attended a lecture/meeting about equality, it was via a bulletin in my school, and I thought it would be interesting. Through this I wounded up for a mailinglist that covers women's issues in Finland. The meeting was itself a total train-wreck, and I sat through it shaking from anger, it was the usual survey statistics and so on (you know the deal) which they presented. 40% of all women employees get sexually harassed and such, and they even laughed it off with "sometimes it can be good harassment, if the feeling is mutual". Nonetheless, this isn't why I wrote here, we have much important issues at hand.

TANE is a official parliamentary organ for equality in Finland that proposes new legislation to tackle inequality. See if you can read through the fine lines in this email:

Delegation for Equality (TANE) compiles valbrev on current gender issues for the parliamentary election on 17 April 2011. Here you get the fourth valbrevet. Taxation and sex Updated 03/17/2011 The income transfers and services such as welfare state is responsible for are covered mainly by tax revenue. Taxation still serve other important purposes. Through taxation evens it out income differences. Further controlled consumption and production through taxes in order to achieve such positive health and environmental effects. The taxation should treat its citizens equally. Finland has a gender-neutral tax system. Taxes are levied in accordance with everyone's tax base, regardless of gender. The differences in the taxes that men and women pay depends on various incomes and consumption. If the generation of more income or consumption behavior is gendered, are also gendered taxes. How taxes are paid, and to whom, is determined by factors before taxation. Women have on average lower incomes than men. Many training areas are still male-or female-dominated, although women have a higher educational level than men. Although labor is horizontally and vertically segregated. Wages are lower in female-dominated industries and there are still fewer women than men in managerial positions. In addition there are career interruptions more common in women than in men. Leave prompted by the children are distributed unevenly between mothers and fathers. Women have even more sick leave than men. According to studies on time use for women in all stages of life more housework than men and the family increases the gap further. Women's participation in working life are subject to frequent family care and health needs. Partly because of this, women have lower incomes than men. On the other hand, does not encourage the lower wages of women to work in this labor market. With respect to economic welfare, women are much more dependent on the public sector than men. First, the public sector a major employer of women, especially women working in healthcare and education. For the other women are more dependent on such the social security and family benefits that replace wages during family leave. Thirdly, women's labor market depends on the availability of municipal health services. Since women's welfare is dependent on the government system of redistribution, changes in these systems, or funding for them, both directly and indirectly affect women's economic status. Through taxation, as income transfers and services, the aim is that, in addition to other objectives, including smooth out differences in income and welfare. Over the last two decades, yet the redistributive effect of these systems clearly declined. In addition to the real level of welfare benefits has declined, also the taxation of benefits tightened in relation to the taxation of earned income - according to a tax policy that will encourage the work. Furthermore, the equalizing effect of taxes declined as a result of structural changes in the tax system. An increasing share of tax revenues are accumulated by proportional taxes and a smaller proportion through progressive taxes. And even if welfare services are not in themselves even out differences in income, they have an offsetting effect on economic welfare, since the service allows you to earn income and be a part of the labor market. Welfare state's future requires sustainable funding base. If tax revenues and user fees are insufficient to cover the costs necessary to dismantle the systems. Then we should be doing time thinking about who should assume responsibility for those who need care.

TL;DR Finland's equality organ proposes that men should be taxed higher