BFF #5: Finnish women

This is the series called BeFriending Finland, which is all about pondering about the oddities of Finnish culture. Check out parts #1, #2, #3 and #4 too!

Well hello, hello my (potentially non-Finn) friends! Today we’re gonna talk about Finnish women. Not only because it is the ladies' week in Finland, but also because we are worth talking about. Before you judge me as cocky, let me try to assure you.

There is already a pretty interesting blog post about Finnish women you might want to take a look at. The blog is called Way up north. The writer has collected some statistics for you guys. And I quote: 

“Girls are likely to do better at school than boys. In fact, 53% of university students in Finland are women – and 64% of university students that graduate are women. 54.5% of PhD students are women.

Our president is a woman. Our former prime minister was a woman. 42.5% of our MPs are women (compared with a European average of about 19%), 61.5% of our MEPs are women.”

So as you can imagine Finnish women are quite independent. We study hard, gain our own status, make our own living and do not let anybody to push us down. In result we might be just a bit bossy like the writer and my dear neighbor Pablo have pointed out.

Kuva: Melanie Hughes

However I strongly disagree with the writer when she claims that every single Finnish woman would be appalled if someone tried to carry their bags or pay for the dinner. Yes, we might be independent, equal and a bit bossy. But it does not mean we do not appreciate the gesture. We might not expect it, not know how to react to it, but deep down inside we are touched.

So when you come to Finland or meet Finnish women abroad you’re likely to find a strong, stubborn person who’s ready to carry her own bags and open her own doors. We’re capable, ready and most of the times obliged to do those things ourselves. But that's also why we appreciate the attention and thoughtfulness more, since it’s rare and unexpected.

Have you met bossy Finnish women? Are you one? What is the situation in your own country? Can you carry your own bags? Should you?

And stay tuned for more! I really don’t know what’s coming up next but if you do, send me a suggestion or a question via Ask from Aliisa –button. (It's in Finnish, but I'm sure you'll cope. It just asks your name first, then your e-mail, your website and then the rest of the space is yours. Go crazy!)