What is equality? 

The Non-discrimination Act protects everyone against discrimination based on their age.  

‘Origin' refers to a person’s ethnic or national origin. 

‘Nationality’ means that a person has the nationality of a certain country. 

‘Language’ means Finland’s official languages Finnish and Swedish, Sámi languages, sign languages, and, in certain cases, other languages and different dialects. 

According to the Constitution of Finland, the public authorities must provide for the cultural and societal needs of the Finnish- and Swedish-speaking populations on an equal basis. Everyone has the right to use Finnish or Swedish when dealing with a governmental authority or an authority of a bilingual municipality.  

According to the Sámi Language Act, in the Sámi homeland, all Sámi people have the right to use a Sámi language or Finnish when dealing with the authorities. 

‘Religion’ refers to the traditional world religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and all newer religious movements.

‘Belief’ refers to non-religious views on the world or life, such as atheism. 

‘Opinion’ includes a person’s political and societal views and opinions.  

‘Political activity’ means participating in political activities, being a member of a political party or voting for a certain party. 

‘Trade union activity’ means being a member of a trade union and participating in its activities. 

‘Family relationships’ refers to whether a person has a family, and whether they are unmarried, married, in a registered partnership, cohabiting, in another type of romantic relationship, divorced or widowed. 

‘State of health’ refers to both physical and mental health. It covers both acute and chronic medical conditions. 

‘Persons with disabilities’ refers to people who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. 

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has an official international definition for persons with disabilities. 

The authorities, education providers, employers, and providers of goods and services must make the due and reasonable accommodations necessary in each situation for a person with disabilities to be able, equally with others, to deal with the authorities and gain access to education, work, and generally available goods and services, as well as to manage their work tasks and to advance their career. 

When the need for such accommodations is determined, the operator’s ability to make such accommodations must also be considered in addition to the needs of the person with a disability. 

‘Sexual orientation’ is a personal characteristic concerning to whom a person feels attracted, and whom they love and feel emotional and/or sexual attraction for. 

‘Other personal characteristics’ means that the list of characteristics in the Act is not exhaustive. Other personal characteristics include a person’s social status, wealth, appearance or place of residence.