Karelia UAS Gender Equality and Equity Plan 2022-2024

 

1 Intro­duction

Discussed in the Coope­ration and Health and Safety Committee 16.12.2021. Approved by President Petri Raivo

Karelia UAS respects the human dignity of everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity, religion, origin, opinions or other personal charac­te­ristics. The purpose of this Equality and Equal Oppor­tu­nities Plan is to promote the fulfilment of the legal obliga­tions and to support the entire higher education community in promoting equality and equal oppor­tu­nities and preventing discrimination.

Legis­lation governing the plan

Equality of persons is a funda­mental right enshrined in Article 6 of the Finnish Consti­tution (731/1999), the core of which is the prohi­bition of placing people in unequal positions on the basis of personal charac­te­ristics without justi­fiable cause. The promotion of equality is regulated in more detail in the Act on Equality between Women and Men (609/1986) and the Non-discri­mi­nation Act (1325/2014). These laws require employers and educa­tional insti­tu­tions to have an equality and equal oppor­tu­nities plan. The plan must include an inventory of the current situation, the actions planned to promote equality and non-discri­mi­nation and an assessment of the imple­men­tation of measures under previous plans. 

In the development of the Karelia UAS Gender Equality and Equality Plan, attention was also paid to the UN Sustai­nable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to ensure human rights, human well-being and the stability of societies in a sustai­nable way from an environ­mental perspective. The plan refers to these goals by presenting a relevant icon. The SDGs can be found online.

Equality and non-discri­mi­nation are taken into account in all the activities of Karelia UAS. The UAS is a safe, caring, respectful, communal and acces­sible working and studying environment, where every person is valued as an individual. The UAS encou­rages students and staff to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue between life-view values. These values are under­pinned by a set of ethical principles that support the reali­sation of equality and equity.

Gender Equality Plans (GEP)

Programmes funded by the EU Commission must aim to tackle gender inequa­lities, improve work-life balance and promote equality between women and men in research and innovation. The relevant and recom­mended areas of the GEPs are illustrated in the graphs below. These issues have been taken into account in this Equality and Equity Plan. 

Description of the planning process

The first gender equality plan for Karelia UAS was made for the period 2009-2011. The Equality Plan was combined with the Non-Discri­mi­nation Plan and at the same time the Karelia Ethical Principles 2013-2015 were created. The plan has been reviewed and updated for 2016-2018 and 2019-2021.

An update of the Equality and Non-Discri­mi­nation Plan for 2022-2023 was carried out at the end of 2021. Jaana Tolkki, Human Resources Manager, Hanna Utriainen, HR Specialist, and Atte Korte, Chief Shop Steward of the OAJ, were respon­sible for the prepa­ration of the plan. The mapping of the current situation presented in the plan is based on the equality and non-discri­mi­nation survey conducted with staff in autumn 2021. In addition, the student union POKA conducted a corres­ponding survey for students. The plan was discussed by the UAS Coope­ration and Health and Safety Committee in December 2021.

Karelia UAS also has other plans and programmes that support the imple­men­tation of equality and equal oppor­tu­nities. The Age and Work Capability Programme aims to promote the mainte­nance of staff’s work capacity and the development of skills at different stages of their careers. The well-being at work programme describes how the UAS considers and supports the well-being at work of its staff. The active concern model is a tool for identi­fying, discussing and resolving various challenging situa­tions in the workplace. The model also includes guide­lines for reporting inappropriate behaviour and harassment.

2 Mapping the equality and equity situation

Measures taken in the past 

Karelia UAS’s previous equality and non-discri­mi­nation plans have included numerous actions to promote equality and non-discri­mi­nation, many of which have become an integral part of the UAS’s normal activities. 

Karelia UAS has been declared a discri­mi­nation-free area in 2011, and since then non-discri­mi­nation has been a core value guiding its activities. Equality and non-discri­mi­nation are taken into account in all activities and the ethical principles of the UAS are highlighted, for example, in staff induction. The model of active concern includes tools to address discri­mi­nation and harassment for both staff and students.

Many measures have been taken to promote equality at the UAS. The needs of people from different cultures have been identified. For example, both campuses have quiet spaces suitable for activities of one’s own religious beliefs.  The inter­na­tio­na­li­sation of students and staff has been taken into account, for example by making services and guidance available in English.

Acces­si­bility has been taken into account in the design of the facilities and both campuses are acces­sible. Karelia has also taken into consi­de­ration the needs of different learners. The Student Welfare Officer is respon­sible for the special support guide­lines, which have been developed for the Pakki student portal and intranet. 

The balancing of work and family life is supported in Karelia UAS in many different ways. Those returning to work from extended leave are given an induction and work arran­ge­ments are agreed with them to ensure a smooth return to work. 

When appointing the working teams of the UAS, equal partici­pation of women and men has been taken into account. Both women and men are selected for job inter­views whenever there are candi­dates of both sexes. In the internal recruitment process, everyone has an equal oppor­tunity to apply for a post. In the case of equally qualified candi­dates, a positive discri­mi­nation procedure may be consi­dered in recruitment where one sex is clearly under-represented.

Staff are paid in accor­dance with the collective agreement. The demanding nature of the work is assessed on the basis of criteria drawn up in consul­tation with the collective agreement and the shop stewards. The diffe­rences in pay are explained by the experience and TVA bonuses provided for in the collective agreement. Staff training and career progression is regularly monitored by means of career development discussions 

Equality and equal oppor­tu­nities survey for staff and students

Staff

Karelia’s staff have been asked about equality and equal oppor­tu­nities using the same question­naire in 2011 (152 respon­dents), 2016 (67 respon­dents), 2018 (66 respon­dents) and most recently in 2021 (71 respon­dents). In 2021, the response rate was 22% of the staff. As the response rate was low, the results are approximate.

The surveys have been used to gather infor­mation on employees’ experiences of equality in their workplace. The question­naires asked employees to rate the imple­men­tation of equality and equity on a five-point scale in the areas listed. [SL5] 

According to the survey, Karelia’s work community is fairly or very well organised in terms of:

• gender equality
• best in the selection of staff, worst in career development and pay
• equality between employees of different ages
• best in social interaction and worst in career development
• equal treatment of people in different emplo­yment relationships
• best in terms of social interaction and worst in terms of training and learning opportunities
• equality for minorities
• best in social interaction and pay, worst in the selection of managers and supervisors

One part of the survey was to find out how Karelia’s staff can balance their work with caring for loved ones, relationships, friends, studies, hobbies or second jobs. The question was asked with the options that challenges are experienced on an annual, monthly or weekly basis. The most common challenge is to balance work and leisure activities, also on a weekly basis. A few times a year, it is perceived as difficult to balance work with relationship time and time with friends. However, the majority of respon­dents felt that this was not the case for me or that there were never difficulties in balancing work and family life.

Work pressure is seen as the biggest challenge in reconciling work and private life. Other reasons included problems with work scheduling, large workloads and the timing of work. Solutions were suggested to improve work planning to better distribute the workload over the academic year and the working day.

The majority of respon­dents have not experienced or been subject to discri­mi­nation. Those who have experienced discri­mi­nation report that they have been discri­mi­nated against mainly by a colleague, but also by their super­visor and management. Discri­mi­nation has been experienced in the distri­bution of tasks and in the appreciation of work. 

According to the survey, some sexual harassment has been observed in Karelia. Sexual harassment is perceived to include ambiguous and sub-stylish language and unwanted remarks about the body and sexuality. Sexual harassment is mainly experienced by a colleague. Some harassment based on gender or other personal charac­te­ristics was found in the survey.

According to the survey, equality between people of different ages and equality for minorities are consi­dered to be the most important areas for impro­vement. Attention was requested to be paid to the distri­bution and planning of work and to equal pay. The need to take into account the inter­na­tio­na­li­sation of the Karelia community was mentioned by several respon­dents. The second-most impor­tantly, the environment should support staff and students from different cultures. All infor­mation, commu­nication and documents should also be in English.

Students

The Karelia UAS student union POKA conducted in 2021 a gender equality and equality survey for Karelia UAS students, based on the survey conducted for the Karelia staff. The survey was answered by 232 students, which was just under 7% of the Karelia students in atten­dance. The respon­dents were from a wide range of educa­tional backgrounds. The largest number of respon­dents (50) was from the social sciences, the second largest from business (34) and the third largest from nursing (21). The previous survey of students was carried out in 2018, with 15 respondents. 

The majority of respon­dents to the student survey felt that Karelia is doing a fairly or very good job in 

– gender equality

– equality between students of different ages

– equality for minorities 

The majority of Karelia UAS students have not experienced or been subjected to discri­mi­nation in the last two years. Respon­dents who had observed or experienced discri­mi­nation assume that discri­mi­nation is caused by the diversity of people or people’s inability to accept and work with different people. Discri­mi­nation was mainly observed or experienced by students from the same student group. Some respon­dents had observed or experienced discri­mi­nation from other students or teachers.

According to the survey, the majority of students who responded to the question­naire had not experienced or perceived sexual harassment in Karelia. The majority of students who had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment responded that it was ambiguous or sub-standard language. The majority had responded that sexual harassment had been observed or experienced by someone other than their own group or by a student from their own group. Just under a third of respon­dents had observed or experienced inappropriate language and the majority had responded that the inappropriate language was related to personal charac­te­ristics. Inappropriate language has also been related to origin and gender.

Students’ open responses indicated that equality and equity could be promoted by integrating the themes into studies, Karelia’s commu­nication and theme weeks. The responses indicated that it would be important to stimulate debate on what is and is not accep­table behaviour towards others. It was felt that discussion would raise awareness and thus also prevent unconscious discrimination.

3 Measures

The aim of Karelia UAS is that the whole working and studying environment should be open and respectful of other people. The UAS values the principle of equality between different people and respect for people. Leadership is based on an open, equal and coaching management culture. Empha­sising gender diversity and changing discri­mi­natory attitudes is an important part of promoting equality. 

1. Promoting equality and equity in Karelia is something we all share.

• Our immediate super­visors take into account the promotion of equality and equity.
• Everyone in the Karelia community ensures that the atmosphere is accepting, open and tolerant.
• In human resources planning and management, our super­visors pay attention to the fairness of work assign­ments and working hours.
• In the training of super­visors, we develop awareness of equality and equity.
• We will include equality and equity as an element of our management development programme.
• We all have a respon­si­bility to address and report on gender and equality related grievances such as harassment. 
• We operate an active concern model and, where appropriate, we use a harassment reporting form
• We will identify potential equality and non-discri­mi­nation concerns and take corrective action where necessary.
• We regularly monitor this through staff feedback, student feedback, work-life feedback and self-assess­ments of training and management.
• We will establish an Equality and Equal Oppor­tu­nities Officer position, for which there will be an internal open call for applica­tions in Karelia. 

2. In Karelia, we are an age and family-friendly community that takes into account the diversity of family forms

• We support people of different ages and family situa­tions through flexible working time arran­ge­ments, such as flexible working hours and the possi­bility of part-time work and unpaid leave such as shift work. 
•  We enable flexible and self-directed working through Karelia’s multi-site working principles.
• We welcome the use of family leave and support return to work with flexible working hours and training.
• We are preparing for the changes brought about by the family leave reform, for example by training our HR staff.

• We support the development of staff’s skills at different stages of their careers, for example through career coaching, job rotation, work experience periods and mentoring.
  • We support older people’s ability to work through various arran­ge­ments such as senior holidays and retirement coaching.
  • We will transform the age and work capability programme into a career programme to better support an age and family-friendly culture. 

3. At Karelia, recruitment, remune­ration and career development are trans­parent and responsible

• Through the strategic human resources plan, we anticipate future recruitment needs and ensure a sufficient supply of skilled staff.
  • Our recruitment guide­lines are written in our strategic HR plan, which is available to staff on the intranet. The recruitment guide­lines include instruc­tions on gender equality and equal opportunities.
  • We all have the oppor­tunity to participate in internal and external application processes.
  • Our pay is in line with the collective agreement and there are no unjus­tified diffe­rences in pay.
    • Karelia’s pay scales are openly available to staff on the intranet
    • Karelia Vipunen, which provides near real-time infor­mation on the opera­tional results of the UAS, is available to all staff in the Karelia Intranet. We are developing Karelia Vipunen so that average salary data and staff job titles are available to all
  • We support staff in creating their own career paths through career development discussions
    • We are building a succession planning system that will enable horizontal career paths in particular.
  • In staff training and induction, we increase knowledge about sustai­na­bility and responsibility. 

4. At Karelia, we treat students fairly and respect equality and non-discri­mi­nation in the learning environment.

• Our learning environment is equal and equitable, and discri­mi­natory practices, for example, are not tolerated.
  • We offer a wide range of training options in different fields
  •  for people in different life situations.
  • Our teaching and learning environment enables learning and quali­fica­tions on an equal basis for all students.
    • Our campuses are accessible.
    • We pay particular attention to barriers to learning and make special arran­ge­ments to support students in need of special support.
  • For students, we offer a wide range of guidance and support services such as the services of a student welfare officer and a pastor. 
  • We have made it possible for students to provide feedback and influence, for example through OPALA feedback and Karelia-POKA coope­ration meetings.

4 Monitoring the implementation

Karelia UAS conducts an annual staff survey (HEPALA) and student feedback survey (OPALA), which also survey respon­dents’ views on equality and equity issues. The results of the survey are discussed in the management group, the coope­ration and occupa­tional health and safety committee, the well-being at work group and the Board of the UAS. 

The Equality and Equal Oppor­tu­nities Officer is respon­sible for monitoring the development of the equality and equal oppor­tu­nities situation in the UAS. Every employee and student has the oppor­tunity to report any concerns to the Equality and Equal Oppor­tu­nities Officer.

Gender distri­bution at Karelia
Female	Male
59%	41%

Typical job titles, permanent, 2021	Female	Male
Lecturer	76	58
Teacher	11	3
Head of education	7	3
Senior lecturer	6	7
Student services coordinator	5	0
Prjoject specialist	4	4
Data expert	4	1
Project manager	1	4
Financial admini­stration specialist	4	0
Typical job titles, temporary,2021	Female	Male
Teacher	12	3
Part-time teacher	19	9
Project coordi­natori	7	0
Project specialist	3	5
Project manager	3	4
Project planner	0	3
	Female	Male
Immediate super­visor 2021	12	7

Pay analysis of men and women,  2021
Average total income/month	Female	Male	Diffe­rence
Senior lecturer	5929	6034	2 %
Lecturer	4664	5197	10 %
Teacher	4123	4733	13 %
Average total income/month	Female	Male	Diffe­rence
Upper management, immediate super­visors and admini­stration managers	6180	6457	4 %
Admini­stration and support services staff	3477	3205	8 %
Project personnel incl. Project managers	3592	3983	10 %

Family leaves 2021	Juridical gender
	Female	Male
Child-care leave	258	0
Paternity leave	0	116
Parental leave	190	0
Maternity leave	18	0
Temporary nursing leave	54	4

Gender of priority applicants to Karelia in 2020 by application targets	male	female	no infor­mation	Total
Karelia-UAS	786	1 110	132	2028
Bachelor of Business Admini­stration, Inter­na­tional Business, daytime studies, application period 8 – 22.1.2020	15	12	90	117
Bachelor of Health Care, Physiot­he­rapist (UAS), daytime studies	99	126	3	228
Bachelor of Engineering (UAS), Energy and Environ­mental Engineering, daytime studies	30	15		45
Bachelor of Engineering (UAS), Industrial Management, daytime studies, application period 8. – 22.1.2020	6	9	36	51
Bachelor of Engineering (UAS), Mecha­nical Engineering, daytime studies	48	3		51
Bachelor of Engineering (UAS), Civil Engineering, daytime studies	45	6		51
Bachelor of Engineering (UAS), Building Services Engineering, daytime studies,	45	3		48
Master of Engineering (UAS), Forestry (Master’s Degree, UAS), Sustai­nable Energy Economy	12	6		18
Master of Engineering (UAS), (Master’s Degree UAS), Technology Compe­tence Management	24	6		30
Bachelor of Culture and Arts (UAS), Media, daytime studies	48	36		84
Bachelor of Engineering in Natural Resources, Forestry (UAS), daytime studies	63	18		81
Bachelor of Hospi­tality Management (UAS), Tourism, daytime studies	12	24		36
Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing (UAS), multiform studies	12	84		96
Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing (UAS), multiform studies, additional application	12	63		75
Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing (UAS), daytime studies	15	81	3	99
Master of Health Care (UAS), Development and Management of Active Ageing		72		72
Master of Health Care (UAS), Development and Management of Health care and Social Services	9	54		63
Bachelor of Social Services (UAS)Social Services, multiform studies	15	141		156
Bachelor of Social Services (UAS)Social Services, daytime studies	24	150		174
Bachelor of Health Care (UAS), Public Health Nursing, daytime studies	3	84		87
Bachelor of Business Admini­stration (UAS), Business Economics, multiform studies	36	69		105
Bachelor of Business Admini­stration (UAS),  Business Economics, daytime studies	66	48		114
Bachelor of Business Admini­stration (UAS), Business Infor­mation Technology, daytime studies	141	33		174
Master of Business Admini­stration (UAS), Business Management and Leadership	18	36		54
Yhteensä	786	1110	132	2028

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The ethical principles of staff and students of Karelia UAS

I do not accept bullying or abusing others in any form.

I do my job well and take personal respon­si­bility for it.

I implement equality and respect difference.

I show confi­dence and respect towards other people’s compe­tence, working methods and discretion.

I take respon­si­bility for well-being at work/ in studies and for the atmosphere of working/studying environment.

I am polite and follow good manners.

I adjust my resources to my duties and express that to my superior/teachers.

I encourage others to independent thinking and support everyone’s right to an opinion.

I strive to grow as a person and a member of community alongside my profes­sional development.