“Having in mind the fact that Estonia is one of the fastest growing innovators and economies in the world with the energy sector and sustainability being no exception to this rule, In what capacity do women-led initiatives play within Estonia’s tt success story? Having in mind the multitude of such initiatives, what initiative was both the most inspirational and a prime example of good practice in your humble opinion?”
Honestly, I wouldn’t bring gender into this question. This is because I find that energy, climate and environment questions should be apolitical – these are the basis of our lives. Finding answers for climate change, energy etc should be a priority to all politicians and worldviews, not be a campaign slogan for only some.
I think Estonia today is quite equal gender wise. We do have a salary gap, which is a problem. But in means of opportunities we are equal.
A colleague of mine – Annely Akkermann – now head of the Finance Committee of our Parliament, led some of the most important base drafts on renewable energy in her past mandates. I asked her whether someone (maybe from the conservatives) brought up her gender and she said no – the discussions were about the energy issues itself.
We have a good amount of innovation competitions where women are actively represented. Same with student companies, which are very popular in Estonia. We have a study program called Unicorn Squad to introduce coding to girls, which is also very popular.
An interesting historical take is that when Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, women were encouraged to work, not to stay at home. This was obviously not because the Soviet Union wanted us to have equal opportunities but because workers were needed. But thanks to this women also worked in areas that historically were “for men” and many still have the skills learned from this time.
“During your tenure at the environmental committee, you have faced the summer of one of the worst climate crises that the EU has experienced following the approval of green reform action plan by the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) in August, To what extent do you see youth and female voices (such as yours) being heard in the Riigikogu? Which achievement do you consider to be the most important during your contribution in the Riigikogu ? Since becoming the youngest female member of the Riigikogu, what was the reception of your female peers in the Riigikogu to your suggestions (that include: creating climate-base laws, acceleration of developing RES, and to integrate environmental education into every subject), and how was it perceived by them?”
Yes, there’s a meme from the Simpsons…
Again, I wouldn’t bring gender into this question. The real matter is bringing more young people in politics and in general – people who see politics as a tool to change the world, not to raise their own importance.
Talking about achievements – in politics you rarely do anything alone. I’m a team player. Estonian parliament has never had such a liberal and progressive majority and coalition in the government.
One of the coalition’s main priorities is to create green reforms – in the energy sector, in transport, in waste management, in renovation.. etc. So to be in the parliament in this situation is very inspiring, not only is everything climate related in my party’s agenda but we have a mandate to go through with these reforms and in addition we have our PM and a Climate Minister leading them.
In a few months, a year has passed since the current government stepped into their position. With almost a year we have legalised same-sex marriage as the first Post-Soviet Union country, sped up the transition to renewables, started drafting a climate law and a waste reform. We are continuing the process of Just Transition in Ida-Virumaa, where we mine oil shale.
I’ve understood that in politics things really do move slowly but that is a “byproduct” of a parliamentary democratic country. Even if the coalition has the majority, we can’t move too fast with all reforms – we need impact assessments and for climate and environment goals to be integrated in every sector. Luckily we belong to the EU which means we have some big goals like Fit For 55 laid before our eyes, our job is to design our policies in accordance to the EU-s climate goals and also the Paris Agreement.
“You have been a member of a poltical party, whose leader is among the few female prime ministers within the EU. Has this been one of your sources of inspiration for to pursue leadership roles? Could you provide some examples where Ms Kallas leadership brought groundbreaking progress in the energy transition, sustainability and tech sectors, both for the country and for the rest of the EU?”
Kaja is definitely a role model for me and other women interested in pursuing leadership. Young people in general see her as very inspirational, because she has strong opinions and she really “puts her foot down” as we say in Estonia.
With Kaja leading the party we received a historically big mandate – 37 (now 38) mandates in the parliament, which has 101 seats. Kaja personally broke a voters record, receiving over 31 000 votes.
She is also the most popular politician Estonia has ever had and to a small country this is a huge win. She has been unbelievably successful in leading EU-s support for Ukraine and to call out Russia as an aggressor which it is. Russia is so pissed at her good work that they put her on their wanted list…
She is well aware of the climate crisis and has put together a coalition where one of the top priorities are green reforms – energy, transportation, waste etc.
During her time as a PM, only difficult times have occurred – Covid, energy crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine. To at first lead a government during these times is already difficult, but to also make unpopular but heavily needed decisions – such as raising our security expenses to 3% of GDP and bringing our national budget to order – is even harder.
During Kaja’s first mandate as PM, she conducted a Climate Advisory Board for her office, which had to monitor our climate policies. During her second mandate as PM, she made the decision to form a Ministry of Climate instead of Ministry of Environment.
Now everything climate and environment related is under the same roof, in the previous governments environment was under one and energy for example under the other roof. Our Minister of Climate Kristen Michal is doing a great job leading our climate policy with ambition and tied to the wellbeing of our economy.
“From the beginning of your career, you have led initiatives on sustainability and environment, either at a party or national level. And definitely have proven your abilities as a female leader in these sectors. What has inspired you and drives you to lead these initiatives for the energy transition and the sustainability sector?”
I grew up in the countryside, meaning I have a close connection with nature. In school I wasn’t really that into politics, but it all changed in 2019 when I had just started my first year in university. Reform Party won the elections big time but a conservative coalition was formed behind Kaja’s back. Not only was the coalition conservative, but EKRE, a right wing populist party, was included in the government.
EKRE’s now leader Martin Helme became the Minister of Finance and the previous leader, Martin’s father Mart Helme, became the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Environment was also from their party but the ministers in this seat changed quite a lot since it wasn’t a very important portfolio to EKRE.
The government made a decision to open a new oil shale company, they wanted to step out of the Paris Agreement, NATO and EU.
They insulted the US and our neighbours in the Nordics and Baltics. Their rhetoric was full of sexism, racism and homophobia. It was a very difficult time for me, since that government didn’t represent anything I believe in – a free world, feminism, importance of climate issues, EU, NATO, Paris agreement, good ties with our allies…
Since I had just moved to Tallinn, I started to look for an output on how I could bring some change into our political culture and decided to join Reform Party’s youth organisation. I quickly realised how little climate change is getting attention in Estonia’s politics and took matters into my own hand.
When I was younger I never knew who to vote for, since there were no young people or women running in my area, also no one talked about youth related issues or climate change. When I decided to join politics, I wanted to become the type of politician who I myself would’ve voted for.
“Estonia needs a new generation of politicians who would put nature’s interests above economic interests and take into account their impact on the environment in all decisions”. What other things must politicians and by virtue activists of the new generation accomplish and/or achieve in order to overcome the generational divide with the older generation of politicians concerning taking account of the environment in all policy decisions, and put the wellbeing of the environment above economic interests?”
I think climate and environment related problems should be solved transgenerationally, all generations have their specific knowledge and skills which are beneficial in solving a huge global challenge. For example, Gen-Z has good digital skills which come in handy for collecting and preserving data, and also for spreading information globally. Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) have good knowledge and logical skills on how to live more sustainably and with less resources.
And generally speaking, for climate and environment issues to be addressed more seriously in politics, they should be part of all parties’ and candidates’ programs and be horizontally integrated to all sectors and topics. I think we don’t need green parties, we need all parties to be green.
When it comes to economy, we need to realise that growth reaches a limit at some point, especially when we look at the planetary boundaries. Many of them we have already crossed because of how our economy works. I don’t suggest a specific type of economic model, even though I know that more and more people are talking about degrowth. Instead I would at the moment talk about circular economy, which saves resources, money and the environment. Switching to a circular economy also provides many opportunities for the economy to renew and innovate itself.
Youth should participate more in both elections and politics. In the EU our population is aging, meaning the less young people want to get involved in politics, the more will the older generation make decisions for them. I know that the youth are eager to change world, but they need a platform to do so. Whether it is in politics, business or in activism, but we need to stand up for ourselves. And intergenerational cooperation only helps with standing up for youth.
“Similarly, we would like to ask you as an Environmental Educator, youth role-model, Environmental Activist and a Leader l to share your personal message of support and inspiration to all the girls and young women out there, who are considering pursuing roles in the energy transition area and preparing to take their very first educational steps with the goal of pursuing such roles in the near future? In your opinion what could be done further from a policy perspective to support participation of women in the energy transition sectors, both nationally and EU-wide?”
It’s clear that all STEM related jobs and people educated in STEM areas are very much needed and appreciated already today but even more in near future. But gender based stereotypes have long historical roots and it’s obviously hard to change the course by instant – our environment and culture are influencing both men and women when it comes to choosing a major or a life path in general.
Stereotypes are not “biological evidence” of any gender being better at some areas, they really are just stereotypes. According to a report done by AAUW, women make only 34% of the STEM workforce and it’s found that when a woman is clearly competent in a “masculine” job, she is considered to be less likable.
If we acknowledge the influence of stereotypes, we can change the course of things. Boys and girls can achieve equally well in STEM areas, we just need to start cultivating girls’ interests in STEM more. As said before, Estonia has some great examples of this – coding programs for girls, entrepreneurship classes in middle or high schools etc.
I recommend a book called “Extraordinary Women of History” by Maria Pettersson for everyone interested in history of women in STEM. History shows again the influence of long-rooted stereotypes and how this issue has repressed women by not only wanting to pursue STEM related areas, but also how women who have pursued them were silenced – making us think today that women had no business in developing science, maths, engineering or technology back in time, when in fact, this is just not true!
So my personal message is – just go for it! The time of nonsense stereotypes is over and we as women need to be vocal about this. The women who have shaped the humanity’s path towards where we are right now, would not want us to be silent.
“Women represent only 7% of ministerial positions responsible for national energy policies and programs and this also reflects the situation in the EU. Studies show that greater gender diversity in governance bodies bring a wider perspective when it comes to the views needs of different social groups and lead to more sustainable outcomes in energy policy-making. What do you think are the main barriers that drive women away from participation in decision-making positions related to climate change?”
Again – historically rooted stereotypes. Not only related to STEM, but also leadership and governance. When I would ask anyone to name 5 famous leaders from history, the probability of them naming only men is very high. And this is because historically men have been more in leadership roles, no matter the area. Referring to Maria Pettersson’s book again – this is not true, it’s just what people back in time chose to write in history books, because we’ve had many great women leaders throughout the history!
The issue is that women have been forced to marry, to raise a family and with both – to be the support system for their husbands who are pursuing a career or a leadership role.
In many countries even today women are not allowed to vote or get educated, not to mention run for elections or rule a country. The outcome of a male centered system is that half of the world’s population is opressed and not represented accordingly, leading to women related issues being minimized or silenced.
So the problem is not only about climate related leadership positions, but in all areas. A UN study shows that at the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years.
Women need to show up and participate in politics more to change this trend. Even if it’s just being vocal about who you’re voting for – examples count a lot. My case happened against all odds, but it’s true. It’s possible to be a successful woman in male dominated areas, such as politics, you just need to show up and speak up because our societies are ready for change.