Goods and services (Directive 2004/113)

• Author: Nousiainen, Kevat
• Pages: 59-60

59

9 Goods and services (Directive 2004/113)89

9.1 General (legal) context

9.1.1 Surveys and reports about the difficulties linked to equal access to and supply of

goods and services

There are no general surveys on these issues. The main s ource of information are the

reports by the Equality Ombudsman, which cover specific forms of alleged discrimination

in the context of the supply of goods and services. Special offers and pricing to women

and time slots reserved fo r women and men in swimming halls and saunas often induce

questions to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has explained several times that different

prices for men and women at hairdressers’ are prohibited, but the practice of separate

prices lists is quite common.

9.1.2 Specific problems of discrimination in the online environment/digital

market/collaborative economy

The expansion of the collaborative economy has been noted in Finlan d, but so far, there

are no legal responses to problems arising in that context. Problems of discrimination in

the online environment are not yet r eported, except for online gender-based violence

against women. There are currently no public reports of problems in the collaborative

economy.

9.1.3 Political and societal debate

There are no further remarks.

9.2 Prohibition of direct and indirect discrimination

Section 8(e) of the Act on Equality defines the offering of goods and services as

discriminatory if it falls under the definition of discrimination (including direct and indirect

discrimination) under Section 7 of the Act.

9.3 Material scope

The material scope of the provision mirrors the material scope of th e Directive.

9.4 Exceptions

Section 8(e)(3) contains the exceptions provided for by Article 3(3) of t he Directive.

9.5 Justification of differences in treatment

Section 8(e)(2) allows the provision of goods or services exclusively or primarily to

members of one sex if it is justified by a legitimate aim, and if the means of achieving that

aim are appropriate and necessary. Th e Equality Ombudsman has considered that offers

to one sex only are justified if their value in money is small; e.g., when special offers are

made due to the yearly mothers’, fathers’, or women’s day celebrations. Some public baths

and swimming halls offer some time slots for men and women separately, and public

saunas are offered for men and women separately. A recent opinion of th e Equality

Ombudsman c oncerns an island on which an enterprise established a resort for women

only (SuperShe Island), with the aim of providing business women a possibility of

networking together. The Ombudsman found that the size of the island was small and the

89 See e.g. Caracciolo di Torella, E. and McLellan, B. Gender equality and the collaborative economy (2018)

European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination, available at

https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/4573-gender-equality-and-the-collaborative-economy-pdf-721-kb.