What We Can Learn From Finland

Written by Aiman Khan

@Mlle.romanichelle

Photo by Alexandr Bormotin on Unsplash

Early December of last year, Finland made headlines around the world by electing 34-year-old Sanna Marin as Prime Minister – making her the youngest serving state leader at the time (surpassed by Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz of Austria on January of this year). And in the world of politics too often dominated by men, the election results have garnered global attention once again on Finland’s collective values.

Over the years, Finland has consistently ranked in the top-ten in a variety of categories, placing first in happiness, freedom, stability, air purity, safety, and public literacy. It seems like the Finns have the Midas touch – that, or years of progressive thinking and public policies have led them to find success across the board.

EDUCATION

When it comes to comprehension and science, Finnish students are leading the rest of the world.

Schools in Finland prioritize children’s development from an early stage. Children do not start school until the age of seven, and are only required to complete nine years of schooling. Class times start from 9 a.m. or later, and class sizes are relatively small – offering students better access to their teachers. Add to that the fact that most Finnish teachers are satisfied with their jobs, and you can see why students in Finland outperform most of their peers on the global stage.

GENDER EQUALITY

Compared to most countries, Finland has a longer history of incorporating women into the sectors of public service that have traditionally been all-male. It was the first country in the world to grant voting rights to women and consequently, became the first country with female members of parliament and MPs. Today, all five of Finland’s coalition parties are headed by women, and four of them are under the age of 35.

Clearly, women in Finland place a high value on independence and hard work. And with the importance placed on education on a national level, Finnish women are some of the most highly-educated in the world. This affords them with a greater range of opportunities in the long-run and the confidence to step into traditionally male-dominated domains such as science and politics.

SISU

There is no English equivalent to the word Sisu but to the Finns, it is more than just a word: it is a way of life, and represents a very fundamental Finnish ideology – that of persistence, grit, tenacity, and going forward in the face of all obstacles. The Winter War between the then powerful Soviet Union and Finland from 1939-1940 brought world attention to this Finnish characteristic when Time magazine reported:

“The Finns have something they call Sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win.”

If there is one thing we can learn from the Finns, it is to cultivate our sisu so that we have the strength to not only move forward when the going gets tough, but to resist temptations that prove to be self-sabotaging in the long run. And by creating a culture that places a high value on education and promotes non-gendered participation in science, business and technology, we may well surpass the Finns in the future.