Sanna Marin is Finland’s mew prime minister—news that traveled fast across the world due to her age, and gender.

The new Prime Minister’s age is notable. At 34 years-old, she is the youngest prime minister in the world. She joined the recently elected prime ministers of New Zealand, Salvador and Ukraine in the under 40 years-old group.

Then there has been the focus on gender. The new female prime minister’s coalition government was formed with all five party leaders being women – the majority being under 40-years of age, also. A photograph of the new prime minister with three of her women cabinet members (all in their thirties) quickly made the headlines. Less encouraging and sarcastic voices suggested that “given all the gender talk” the photo lacked “gender-balance”.

Feminists across countries applauded and congratulated the new prime minister inspired what might promise more change and innovative solutions to come. Others were more critical. How could such “unexperienced” woman be entrusted with all that power. Sexist tendencies could also be observed: maybe not unexpected, some (mainstream) media coverage commented on the looks of the new Finnish Prime Minister. The German Tagesschau, for example, received much push-back on social media for having referred to Prime Minister Sanna Marin as ”beautiful & young” (“hübsch & jung”).

How did Finland get there? Below are some key take-aways and what the country does to promote diversity:

1. The pipeline matters. Finland has continued to rank high on the World Economic Forum’s Annual Gender Gap Report Index. In 2018, Finland occupied place 4 of 149 ranked countries. Notable are the country’s overall high – and also gender-equal – achievements in health and education that have contributed to women’s high economic and political participation. Finland’s cabinet features a significant number of women: twelve portfolios are represented by women, only seven by men. Marin herself was previously Minister of Transport. 
2. The culture of gender diversity is key. Having a strong pipeline does not necessarily translate to results in top leadership. We know that globally women often graduate in higher numbers (and with better grades) from universities across various academic disciplines. Yet, such talent pipeline is frequently leaking due to lack of public and private sector “demand”, or women deciding themselves, not to put themselves forward for top positions (a drop in “supply”). In addition to structural enablers (including ways to address “unconscious bias”), culture plays a significant role. 
3. Other enablers (such as quotas, childcare) can help build the pipeline. Research from the past 30 years suggests that quota provisions and the type of electoral system are good predictors for women’s representation in parliament across countries. Voluntary party quotas can also be an effective means to boost the share of women in parliament, but to a lesser extend than parliamentary quotas. Overall, 10 European Union member states (though not Finland) instituted legislative candidate quotas to increase gender balance in parliaments. Yet, the Finnish Equality Act (while not applying to bodies chosen via elections) includes a quota provision that requires state-administration committees, advisory boards, and others to have at least 40% of both women and men. Finland was also the first country in Europe to allow universal and equal suffrage.

What is the common denominator among women who advance to the top posts of government?

In a 2010 interview, Laura Liswood, the secretary general of the Council of Women World Leaders (which is composed of 74 of women presidents, prime ministers, and heads of government) put it this way: “By and large one common denominator is that women have a passion and a desire to change things.”

One thing is clear: the world will be watching Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her new cabinet. The world’s oldest prime minister (94-years old), Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad, offered this wisdom to the youngest prime minister: “Ask old people for advice and hold onto your idealism.”

As the recent Finnish experience has shown, maybe it is also time for more traditional politicians to listen more carefully to advice from youth.

SOURCE: FORBES