Finland's powerful women leaders come together for book release.
When Finnish publisher WSOY recently launched two thought-provoking books about women and leadership in business and politics at the same time, the company decided to do something a little different with the launch: Publisher Leena Majander invited a wide range of political, business and cultural leaders to a party at the Bonnier House on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki.
Facebook co-founder Sheryl Sandberg’s thought-provoking book Lean In – Women and the Will to Lead was published within a month of Eveliina Talvitie’s Keitäs tyttö kahvia (Hey Girl, Why Don't You Make some Coffee), so it made sense to celebrate them both since the two books fit together so perfectly.
“Both books bring to light serious everyday problems women face during their careers, and both show concrete ways to live and build successful careers while dealing with the competing problems,” says Majander. “Eveliina Talvitie showcases dozens of experiences about women in politics in her book. They all prove that also in the Nordics women feel that their sex is a major issue and influences their work. Sheryl Sandberg’s message is, that the world would be a better place if men would take care of half the work at home and women half the business. She encourages in her book all women to lean in, accept the challenges and trust themselves.”
The party was well-attended by everyone from former Speaker of Parliament and Education Minister Riitta Uosukainen and former Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi to CEO of Diacor Health Services Anni Vepsäläinen (who wrote the foreword to Lean In). And appropriately, the group was serenaded by a duo called Laulavat kahvinkeittäjät (Singing Coffee Makers).
“These kinds of happenings showcase the need and value of different kinds of women-woven networks,” says Majander. “It’s sad, but it was said more than once during the day that the support that women may have from men in the beginning of their careers seems to vanish the day when women really start to gain some power and start being on the same level as those very men.”