Students belonging to gender minorities do not have an equal right to have the gender marker in study information systems, that corresponds to their actual gender identity. In most cases, it is also not possible to set a self-chosen calling name in the systems. Efforts to influence this issue have been made before, and now we want to gather as broad a coalition as possible, to express to the decision-makers, that the matter is urgent and needs to be actively addressed and developed.
Nyyti ry, the students’ organization for mental health, has made a petition aimed at establishing a gender code set in databases, that includes four categories; restricting access rights for viewing gender markers and the ability for individuals to self-determine both their gender marker and their calling name. According to talks with system developers and others responsible, these demands are realistic and achievable in practice. The petition was signed by 186 student organizations and Tamko is one of them. It will be handed over as a joint declaration from the student movement in a discussion event on Monday, 5.10.2026 as part of the advocacy work in this issue. The entire petition is below.
You can see the list of the all student organizations who signed the petition from Nyyti’s article: https://www.nyyti.fi/en/students-must-have-the-right-to-self-determination-of-their-calling-name-and-gender-in-student-information-systems/
A blog post on the theme can be found on Nyyti’s website (in Finnish): Opintotietojärjestelmät ja itsemäärittelyoikeuden kunnioitus korkeakouluissa – rakenteet vaikuttavat opiskelijoiden mielenterveyteen Nyyti ry
If you have any questions about the statement, its content, or the promotion of the mental health of LGBTQIA+ higher education students, please contact the employees of the QueerMieli project by email queermieli@nyyti.fi.
Petition: Students must have the right to self-determination of their calling name and gender in student information systems
The persona! data of all students in Finnish higher education institutions is registered in Student lnformation Systems, in which data is stored and used for course registrations, statistics and academic records, among other purposes. Many higher education institutions retrieve the data from the Population lnformation System of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, in which case students’ legal information is used in the Student lnformation Systems. The legal name and gender entered in the system do not necessarily correspond with how the student defines themselves and wants to be met in everyday life. This exposes students belonging to gender minorities in particular to situations where they are called by a false name or misgendered in interactions orin official documents. Not all LGBTQIA+ students have the opportunity to correct their legal information, for financial reasons for example. Because the legislation does not yet recognise a third legal gender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people remain completely invisible in the Population lnformation System.
Students must have the right to determine, correct and define the information used of themselves in the Student lnformation Systems. The issue of the right to self-determination applies to both the calling name and gender. Based on the discussions QueerMieli project has had with the system developers, it is technically entirely possible to find solutions that respect the right to self-determination. Education providers have an obligation to promote equality and non-discrimination defined in the Equality and Non-Discrimination Acts, and this aisa includes the rights and status of gender and sexual minorities in education.
The gender codification should be expanded so that 4 different codes are identified in the systems: female, male, other and unknown. Higher education institutions should collect the data from students themselves, enabling the use of these four different codes. The collected data from the data resource will be transferred to the reporting of the Ministry of Education and Culture, for example, so that the statistical data will provide information on the gender distribution of students that corresponds to reality. lt is aisa necessary to critically examine which staff members of the higher education institution have a justified need to view gender data in the student’s own data, and to obscure the visibility of gender data to users of the system who do not have a clear reason to see it.
Students must have the opportunity to define their own preferred name in the student information systems, which must aisa be possible to be something else than the official given names. According to the representatives of Peppi and Sisu, coding a separate preferred name in the systems and making it available for the student to enter themselves is not at all technically impossible. The right to self-determination must aisa be taken into account regarding emails and other user IDs used by the student.
As hate speech and hate acts against minorities have become more common, it is particularly important to strengthen protective structures that promote equality. The effects of minority stress on the lives of LGBTQIA+ students are significant, and they aisa cause societal costs. The effects of minority stress can be seen, for example, in interrupted or prolonged studies and various physical and mental symptoms.
We want students’ right to self-determination to be respected not only in everyday encounters but aisa in structures. Developing Student lnformation Systems in a direction that is more respectful of the right to self-determination promotes students’ ability to study, their mental health and the fluency of their studies.