WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN FINLAND’S GRASSROOT POLITICS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE 2017, 2021, AND 2025 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN FINLAND

In this paper, I focused on the examination of the extent of women's political involvement in Finland's local politics by studying the 2017,2021, and 2025 municipal elections. By using comparative analysis, trends and disparities between political parties were identified. The findings show that as many as 42.3% of all candidates in the 2025 polls were women, which indicates a rise from previous years. The critical mass theory is used to show how a high proportion of women in local politics can influence local policymaking. Left-wing political parties featured more female candidates across the electoral years, as compared to far-right parties, which lag. Factors such as political party ideologies, shifting political culture, prominence of strong women organizations, and the rise of female political role models are some key drivers of increased female participation. The study recommends the introduction of a quota system to ensure political parties have a minimum proportion of female candidates they can feature in elections. This article contributes to addressing Finland’s progressive but uneven landscape of women’s grassroots political participation, and it also lends a voice to the global gender discourse.