Equality | “I don’t have to step there with my foot” – Suomalainen Klub’s events canceled due to the lack of women’s membership

Helsinki Suomalainen Klub’s decision to deny membership to women in the future arouses criticism. For example, a long-term active member of the Club, a professor, a cello artist Seppo Kimanen was disappointed with the voting result to such an extent that he not only canceled his planned appearance at the Club’s afternoon matinee, but also immediately resigned from the entire association.

“I don’t think it is part of modern Finnishness that women are discriminated against in a club whose name is mandatory, i.e. Suomalainen Klubi”, Kimanen explains his decision to STT.

According to Kimanen, the decision to resign is based on the fact that he has, in a way, been a representative of classical music in the Club. Among other things, he has organized dozens of cultural events there. However, Kimanen finds it impossible to accept that the Club still does not accept female artists as members.

“My world of values ​​as a musician does not include that if a composer Jean Sibelius lived, he could belong to the Club, but Kaija Saariaho No.”

Kimanen points out that on Tuesday of last week, there was already a second vote on the acceptance of women as members. The first vote was last December. He says that he believed that the change unanimously recommended by the board would go through this time. However, this did not happen, as just under 70 percent voted in favor of allowing women’s membership, while 75 percent of the votes cast would have been needed to change the rules.

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“It is not part of my world of values ​​as a musician that if the composer Jean Sibelius were alive, he could belong to the Club, but Kaija Saariaho could not.” – Seppo Kimanen

A solution also criticized the CEO of the Helsinki Event Foundation Stuba Nikulawho was supposed to participate in the discussion event organized at the Club in December. Nikula confirms that he will be absent due to the voting result. In the background is the issue of equality.

Nikula says that he already thought about the question when he agreed to the discussion. However, the vote was just coming up, so he had no reason not to go.

“But then when that result was that, I decided that I don’t have to step there.”

However, Nikula hopes that the members of the Club who are most angry about the voting result will not resign, because it would make it difficult to achieve the required 75 percent majority in the future.

Also doctor of law Timo Viherkentät confirms to STT that he has canceled his presentation at Suomalainen Klub due to the voting decision. The club’s program for the autumn season still includes, for example, ministerial lunches for the Minister of Economic Affairs by Wille Rydman (ps) and the Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen (cook) with.

Suomalainen Klubi, founded in 1876, tells on their website that it is a cultural club where men of different ages who are committed to the ideological basis of Finnishness meet each other. It organizes events and hobby activities every week in its own club premises.

A week after the last member vote, Suomalainen Klubi said in a press release that the chairman Raimo Ilveskero resigns immediately. The new chairman will be elected at the autumn meeting in November, and he will start the position at the turn of the year.

For an interim period, the club’s management was taken over by the vice-president Rainer Friberg.

Friberg says that after the vote, he received a lot of feedback from the members in the form of e-mails and phone calls. In the feedback, it is hoped that the lines could be connected as soon as possible.

“This kind of, in quotation marks, you can say, small hump that has arisen, does not serve anyone,” states Friberg.

He believes that the situation will be normalized quickly and that the purpose of the Club will be promoted.

“In other words, Finnishness and patriotism. And these things can be carried forward in such a way that everyone is then satisfied again.”

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“Such, in quotation marks, you can say, a little hump that has arisen, serves no one.” – Rainer Friberg

in Friberg on Monday, there was no exact information on how many members have left the club since the most recent voting decision. He estimates that there are a few differences.

“I don’t think there will be any eroboom, that a bigger group will leave.”

According to Friberg, two of the events of the autumn season have been canceled due to the voting result, because the performers have considered that the values ​​do not meet. However, he reminds that more than two-thirds of the members were in favor of women’s membership.

“But a small minority stopped it. Unfortunately, we do not have this majority of votes mentioned in our own rules, but it comes from the Association Act.”

Friberg estimates that many associations were done a disservice when the voting share required to change the rules was increased from two-thirds to three-quarters in the Associations Act.