Regional Council of Kainuu and City of Kajaani have together launched a pilot, which aims to integrate the perspective of young women more strongly into the municipal business policies around Kainuu and into the regional marketing.
Behind this initiative is the observation that women tend to leave, men to stay. Young women are currently severely under-represented in the inhabitants of all Kainuu municipalities. It is common for the municipalities to have only 60-80 women per 100 men in the age group of 20-29 old. This is problematic in many ways: Activity of young women is underrepresented and women’s voices and ideas have too little weight related to many important factors, such as services, housing and transport. In addition, the couple formation becomes much more difficult and the birth rates remain low. It has been found out that young women are the key group in determining the direction of future regional development through their choices of residence.
Giving the Voice to Young Women
Regional Council of Kainuu and City of Kajaani have now taken up the matter. The pilot project launched will create a new operating model for business policy, which will help to incorporate the wishes and needs of young women in the contents and procedures of municipal policies. This is a unique pilot with a novelty value.
Come Along!
The pilot consists of three parts. The research section consists of statistical analysis, interviews and an online survey. The second phase identifies and tests ways to make the needs and aspirations of young women heard. Several women’s panels will be set up to produce new content for different areas of business policy. During the third part, an operational model will be formulated for the business policy in city of Kajaani, into which the perspective and new ideas of young women are incorporated. The work will begin immediately and the final report shall be completed by the end of February 2021.
The regional pilot is connected to the Regional marketing project of Kainuu. The regional development consultancy MDI has been chosen to carry out the pilot project. In their own studies, MDI has already for several years drawn attention to the lack of tools, especially in business policy, to address gender equality issues and thus contribute to the diversification of future perspectives on regional development.
Additional Information
Minna Komulainen +358 44 410 0726
Regional Development Manager at Regional Council of Kainuu
Risto Hämäläinen
Head of Office at City of Kajaani, +358 44 7100217
Regional Development Consultancy MDI:
Lead Specialist, PHD, Kaisa Lähteenmäki-Smith, +358 50 513 4810
Senior Advisor, Urban Policy, M.Sc.Soc., Eero Holstila, +358 50 567 2087
