Bella Forsgrén, a member of the Green League who has been serving as a member of the Parliament of Finland since 2019, representing the Central Finland constituency has been elected Chair of the Women’s Parliamentary Network in Parliament. She revealed the news via a Facebook post.
She said, the presidency of the network is transferred from one party to another every year, this time it was the turn of the Greens. Her vice-chairman this year is Pia Lohikoski of the Left Alliance!
Recall that the network of women MPs has been operating since 1991 – that is, the network is 30 years old this year! The women’s network thus has a long tradition of cross-party cooperation. The female members of Parliament formed a network that acts as a forum in which they can discuss political issues that affect women in particular irrespective of party lines.
According to her, “in order to achieve political goals, we strive to influence the decisions of both the government and Parliament. We also participate in international cooperation to strengthen the role of women in decision-making globally.”
There is more demand for a network of women MPs than ever before. The network provides new MPs with expertise, information and support that spans the term. Over the years, it has been central to the Women’s Network’s ability to provide women’s representatives with the opportunity to discuss and learn about political issues related to equality. Topical and socially discussed topics that have an impact on equality are often chosen as topics in legislative activities, she said
Information from the Finnish Parliament website reveals that 47 % of the Members of the current Finnish Parliament are women.
Despite the corona, we will continue to work – our job is to promote legislation that supports equality. The network has often succeeded in promoting and defending equality through good cross-party cooperation , she concluded
