Dismissal of journalist sparks debate over sexual orientation bias

The dismissal of a recently appointed newspaper editor-in-chief, allegedly over her lesbian relationship, has sparked a heated debate about discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the Finnish workplace. Although surveys have found that discrimination on such grounds is not uncommon, it seldom arises as a problem in trade union consultations.

Background

In September 2008, the journalist Johanna Korhonen was named as the new editor-in-chief of the newspaper Lapin Kansa. Ms Korhonen had left her previous job as editor-in-chief of Journalisti, the newspaper of the Finnish Union of Journalists (Suomen Journalistiliitto, SLJ) and was due to take up her new position at Lapin Kansa in mid December. However, her contract was unexpectedly cancelled before the start date. Ms Korhonen is insisting that the move by Lapin Kansa was as a result of the revelation that she is living in a registered civil union with another woman.

Disagreement over grounds for dismissal

A statement issued by the newspaper’s owner, the Finnish media company Alma Media, insisted that the company’s board decided to cancel Ms Korhonen’s contract due to a ‘lack of trust’. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alma Media, Kai Telanne, denies that the move had anything to do with the journalist’s personal relationship with a woman. Mr Telanne highlighted: ‘Alma Media does not discriminate. We have any number of people living in all kinds of relationships. Johanna Korhonen knows this herself.’

At the beginning of the dispute, Mr Telanne did not specify the reason for the said lack of trust. At a later stage, however, he stated in a news interview on the commercial television network MTV3 that Ms Korhonen was dropped because she had been dishonest in her job interview about her partner’s political activism.

Widespread debate about discrimination

This latest incident has generated widespread debate about discrimination in the Finnish workplace. Representatives of journalists working at Lapin Kansa have even called for the resignation of Mr Telanne as CEO.

Trade unions report low incidence in number of cases

Although surveys have found that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not uncommon, such cases of discrimination are seldom treated in trade union consultations. For instance, a leading lawyer with the Trade Union of Education of Finland (Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö, OAJ), Markku Pouta, stated that OAJ had not encountered a single case of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Similarly, lawyers Else-Mai Kirvesniemi from the Union of Salaried Employees (Toimihenkilöunioni, TU) and Mika Hämäläinen from the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (Julkisten ja hyvinvointialojen liitto, JHL) confirmed that cases of discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation are extremely rare. A District Chief of the Service Union United PAM (Palvelualojen ammattiliitto, PAM), Niina Koivuniemi, stated that cases of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation do occur every now and then.

Commentary

The dismissal of Ms Korhonen has generated widespread debate about discrimination in the Finnish workplace. The social partners have been quite cautious in commenting about the incident, as the dismissal case will be brought before the courts. However, many of the trade unions have used the incident to highlight how equality issues should be made more visible among trade unions. This would in turn make it easier for employees who have experienced sexual discrimination or harassment to openly speak about their experiences to trade union representatives.

Pertti Jokivuori, Statistics Finland