TEK works persistently on behalf of more equal work life. Our long-standing collaboration with Helsinki Pride is part of this work. Now partnering for the sixth year running, TEK is an official Working with Pride partner this year. Helsinki Pride works to advance the rights, inclusion and wellbeing of sexual and gender minorities.
TEK’s council agreement for the term 2023–2026 states that TEK builds an equitable and safe work life and society for everyone, regardless of their background. It is TEK’s aim to dismantle discriminatory structures and attitudes in work life. One way to achieve this is to include provisions ensuring equality in collective agreements.
“Collective agreements can have a broad and profound impact on the terms and practices followed in companies. I also believe that employer organisations and companies have the will to pursue this goal,” says TEK’s Labour Market Director Teemu Hankamäki.
“As a practical example, some of the recently renewed collective agreements now include a provision on so-called reasonable accommodation (kohtuulliset mukautukset) to take disabled people into account in work life.”
TEK is organising workshops on more equal collective agreements. Their aim is to develop new provisions or text for collective agreements that take equality into account and improve the rights of minorities at work. This will become relevant in 2–3 years’ time, when negotiations for the renewal of the current agreements begin again.
TEK has invited experts on collective agreements, equality and equity from Akava, SAK and STTK and their affiliates to participate in these workshops. TEK will organise the workshops in cooperation with Helsinki Pride and the Diverse Families network in May and September 2025.
In addition, TEK will continue to provide equality training for employee representatives. The training sessions have covered topics such as workplace accessibility and reasonable accommodations, anti-racism, equality and gender diversity, as well as LGBTQIA+ people, queer and rights.
TEK supports a non-discriminative student culture
In January, TEK organised a rainbow seminar for students together with Sekava and GAYY. The work life seminar was held in Tampere. Sekava brings together LGBTQ+ students from the Tampere Universities community. GAYY is the LGBTQ+ organisation of Aalto University.
You can read a recent article about Sekava in TEK Magazine and a slightly older article (in Finnish) about GAYY.
TEK published an equality guide in 2023, aiming to support students’ efforts to build a more equal and non-discriminative student culture.
Additionally, TEK continues to challenge student organisations in the field of technology to engage in safer activities. Nearly a hundred organisations have already accepted the challenge. The participating organisations receive TEK's 'All are welcome here' standard, which symbolizes equality of LGBTQIA+ students both in the activities of the student organisation and in the organisation’s premises.
