Women of the Arctic Council: Henna Haapala

You have worked on international environmental cooperation with a focus on the Arctic and Northern regions for many years. What drives your professional development and your career?

I have been interested in Northern environmental questions since my studies. I studied international relations and environmental politics, and this was at the beginning of the 1990s when there was an overall increase in awareness that environmental issues are international issues. So, this was my main driver at that time.

With regard to my career and when I look back at my whole work life, I can say that development comes with an interest. If you are interested in something, the development comes easy in that area.

Can you pinpoint a pivotal point in your career or life that has led you to where you are today – and would you be willing to share it with us?

There are actually several moments but a decisive moment links to what I mentioned before: when I was young there was a general awareness of the causes of environmental problems as well as of their cross-border impacts. It became clear that environmental issues cannot be solved by one country only, we need cooperation.

It was that period in my youth, when I could already see some first developments on these issues. It was in the 1980s and nineties when some of the environmental problems were solved and we started to understand that we could do something about them. Acid rain was a problem that younger generations today have maybe not even heard about.

The acidification was caused by sulfur dioxide emissions and resulted in acidifying lakes and dying forests, which was a big concern for citizens in Finland and elsewhere in Europe that time. This was a problem that had impacts here in Finland, but the cause originated partly from outside the country through the transboundary nature of pollution, of course Finland’s own emissions had an impact as well. So, when the UNECE agreement on transboundary air pollution and its protocol on sulfur dioxide was adopted on the European level, it solved the issue. Sulfur dioxide emissions have been reduced remarkably and emissions were no longer transported to the same extent from southern latitudes to Northern Europe. This is a good example that also relates very much to Arctic cooperation addressing the pollutants air and sea currents bring from areas outside the Arctic to the North.

This shows that there are solutions, we only need a general awareness and engagement of the society to create a political will. Every problem can be solved if there’s a will. That’s of course a general statement but applies also to environmental issues.

You are Senior Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of the Environment of Finland – how would you describe your leadership style/values?

My work is related more to networks than leading teams and I hold different chairing and expert positions in these networks. This work across departments is actually something I feel is very important, especially as we work with other ministries, and it reminds me of a leading idea that comes from the time when I was studying environmental politics.

My professor said that it’s not enough that you as environmental experts know about and act on issues, but the whole society and economic actors are needed to solve environmental problems. It’s a major task to encourage society as well as to help economic actors understand the price tag of environmental contamination.

This idea that we need to work with everyone is the background of everything I’m working on, and I think that this awareness is better now than it was when I started studying. There’s an overall understanding that the environment is not a separate issue to solve but is connected to everything we are doing in our society, and the costs of environmental deterioration are connected to every bill we are paying, even though the real price of contamination is still largely missing.

What do you think are current challenges and opportunities for women in government roles?

In general, I think the opportunities have become better. More and more women hold positions with responsibilities thanks to the brave women who paved the way as they were the first ones to become prime ministers and presidents. But I would highlight two issues .

One is of course the salary. This is perhaps not specifically an issue in the governmental structures but overall in society, women are still paid less for the same work compared to men. It might not be as broad an issue as it has been but there are still cases.

The other issue is related to parenting and reconciling family and work. While many fathers also want to spend more time with their children and stay at home for a time when the children are small, they might find it difficult to explain at their workplace. So, even though people want to strive for equality inside their own family, it can be difficult to implement this with employers that are not supportive of the idea that fathers are equally entitled to stay at home with their kids.

Do you have a piece of advice for young women who are interested in pursuing a career in government affairs?

I’m a bit hesitant to give advice to young people, as the world is so different today. I would rather listen and then support accordingly. I see that the knowledge base and skills of young people are at a very different level compared to when I was young. The ability to get information has changed significantly.

So, I’m going to return to what I said in my first answer: Development and career advancement are best achieved when one follows one's own interests. Interest in something is an important resource.