Women in Iceland

Women in Iceland
A procession in Bankastræti in Reykjavík on July 7th 1915 to celebrate women's suffrage.
Gender Inequality Index[1][2]
Value 0.921 (2016)
Rank 9th out of 144[3]
Maternal mortality (per 100,000) 27[4]
Women in parliament 38%[5]
Females over 25 with secondary education 99% [M: 99%]
Women in labour force 79% [M: 86%][5]
Global Gender Gap Index (2009-2017)[lower-alpha 1]
Value 0.878 (2017)[6]
Rank 1st out of 144

Women in Iceland generally enjoy good gender equality. As of 2018, 88% of working-age women are employed, 65% of students attending university are female, and 41% of members of parliament are women. Nevertheless, women still earn about 14% less than men.[7] Iceland has the world's highest proportion of women in the labour market, significant child care allocations for working women, and three months' parental leave for both men and women.[8]

Iceland is arguably one of the world's most feminist countries, having been awarded this status in 2011 for the second year in a row.[9] Iceland was the first place to have a female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, elected in 1980.[10] It also has the world's first female and openly gay head of government, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who was elected prime minister in 2003.[11]

Iceland enjoys the smallest overall gender gap, according to the World Economic Forum ranking Global Gender Gap Report, a position it has held since 2008. In 2016 Iceland had a 12.6% gap, as measured across four categories: health, education, economic participation and opportunity, and political advancement.[12]

The pay gap between women and men is decreasing at a rate which would lead to parity in 2068.[13] Women earn about 72% of men's salaries on average, and are still subject to domestic and sexual violence.[8]

History

Age of settlement

Norse women journeyed with men as explorers, and later as settlers in the Settlement of Iceland, the settler Aud the Deep-Minded was one of the earliest known Icelandic women.[14] Other notable early Icelanders include the explorer Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the poet Steinunn Refsdóttir, and Thorgerd Egilsdottir, wife of Olaf the Peacock, and the quasi-historical Gunnhild, Mother of Kings. The age of settlement is considered to have ended in the year 930 with the establishment of Alþingi.[15]

Viking age

During the Viking Age norse women worked in farming and commerce alongside men, and were often left in charge while their husbands were away or had been killed.[16]

Gender pay gap

Iceland is arguably one of the world's most gender-equal countries.[17] It is listed as number one in the 2016 best places to work as a women index.[18] It has been named the most feminist country in the world, and has been listed number one on the gender pay gap index since 2009.[9] For the past eight years “Iceland has finished first of more than a hundred countries in the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Gender Gap ranking, which quantifies disparities between men and women in health, politics, education, and employment (the higher a country’s ranking, the smaller its gender disparities).”[17]

In Iceland women are paid about 18% less than their male counterparts, if working in the same job with the same level of experience; for comparison, the average European wage gap is 16.2%.[13] Excluding ranking, position, and hours worked, the average annual income for women is 28% less than men.[17] At the current rate,[19] women will not experience equal pay until 2068.[19] The Icelandic government has said it aims to close the gender pay gap in Iceland by 2022.[20]

In 2018, Iceland made unequal pay for equal work illegal; companies and government agencies with over 25 employees face heavy fines.[21]

Government

Iceland became the third modern democratic country in which women gained the vote in 1915. But by 1975, there had still only been nine female parlimentarians in total, and there were only three (5% parliamentarians). Other Nordic countries had 16%-23%. After the 1975 Icelandic women's strike, more women were elected. In 2015, 28 parlimentarians (44%) were female.[22]

Iceland has had a woman as either president or prime minister for 20 of the last 36 years.[17] In the 2016 parliamentary election covering 63 seats, 30 women were elected,[12] increasing the number of females in the Alþingi to over 47%.[23]. Compared to the United States which sits at twenty percent,[12] Iceland was said to have the “most equal parliament” in the world when women won 48% of the seats in 2016.[24]

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir 

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

On June 29,1980 Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was voted in as the first female president of the Iceland, and the fourth president of the republic[25]. She was the first women to be elected head of state in a national election,[26] and the world's first democratically elected female president. After becoming president without opposition in 1984, 1988, and 1992, she retired from the presidency in 1996. Vigdis also was an artistic Director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company, she was a teacher of French at the University of Iceland, and was the press officer at the National Theatre of Iceland (1954-1957 and 1961-1964).[25] She broadcast lectures on local television, and trained local tour guides.[27]

During her time as president she used her position to focus on youth and support forestry, while promoting Icelandic language and culture.[27] After her retirement as president in 1996, Vigdis went on to become  “founding chair of the Council of Women World Leaders at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.”[26]. Two years later, in 1998, she was appointed president of the Unesco World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology.[26].

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

In 2003 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland as well as the world's first openly lesbian head of government. She held that position for 16 years and used her leadership to attempt to ban strip clubs “explaining it as a necessary measure to bring about justice, which is impossible, as she concluded, when women are treated like commodities.”[28] Before this Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was already a very active member of government. In 1978 she was elected into the Althing as a member of the Social Democratic Party. She became minister of social affairs in 1987, a position she held until 1994. She started her own party in 1994 called National Movement, which joined with the Social Democratic Party, Women’s Alliance and the People’s Alliance in 1999, and in 2000 merged to become the Social Democratic Alliance. On June 27, 2010 Iceland declared same-sex marriage legal, and Jóhanna and her partner Jónína Leósdóttir were officially married.[29]

Katrin Jakobsdottir

Katrin Jakobsdottir

Katrin Jakobsdottir became Iceland's second female prime minister.[21]

Women's day off action

Icelandic women have been going on strike on October 24 every few years since 1975, when the tradition was started,[30] “The goal of the strike was to protest the wage discrepancy and unfair employment practices by demonstrating the crucial roles of women in Icelandic society.”[31] The strike included both women who worked in paid jobs and women doing household duties and taking care of their families. They did this “to demonstrate that what their husbands and bosses used to take for granted.”[27]. The protest was led by a women’s rights group in Iceland organized for International Women’s Year.[31] This included 90% of the women in Iceland.[28] They called this day “women’s day off” and were in an attempt to overcome the gender pay gap, while fighting for social and economic equality.[32]. In 1975, 2005, 2010, and 2016 women in Iceland walked out in accordance to the time of day that they would stop being paid if their wage was the same as men[32]

The time of day was chosen as the time that women would begin to work for free if they were paid the same as their male counterparts. In 1975 women left their workplaces at 2:05pm, in 2005, 2:08pm, in 2010, they left at 2:25pm, and at 2016, at 2:38pm,[13] only half an hour later than 11 years earlier.[17] At this rate (~3 minutes later/year), it is estimated that it will take 52 years to close the gender pay gap and bring the strike time down to zero.[33]

The original protest was proposed by The Red Stockings, a radical women’s movement founded in 1970. After the United Nations declared 1975 as International Women's Year, five of the major women’s rights groups in Iceland sent one member each to a committee to plan events for the year.[31]. Originally proposed as a women's strike, the name was changed to a “womens' day off” when some women found "strike" too confrontational; they thought ‘day off’ was a more pleasant way to put it, appealing more directly to the masses[32] and encouraging public support.[8]

Most saw the event as a success, although one member of The Red Stockings thought it a missed opportunity. Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the first women president of England, and divorced mother referred to the event as having “showed the force and necessity of women — it completely changed the way of thinking.”[32] She also stated that had it not been for that initial strike in 1975, she probably never would have made it to presidency.[32]

1975

It is said that in 1975, women in the workplace made 60% less than their male counterparts. Many were unable to work as they had to stay at home to do the housework and raise the children.[31] The scale of the event was very large, covering 25,000 women in a country with just 220,000 inhabitants. In Reykjavik, almost 90% of the women participated.[32]. Similar yet smaller versions of the protest were said to have taken place all across the country.[33]

The first strike in 1975 affected many things. Many schoolteachers were women, so schools closed or nearly so. The walkout disrupted the telephone service, and halted the printing of newspapers, as the typesetters were all women. Daycares were mostly closed, because the daycare workers were women, so men had to take their children to work. Easy-to-cook meals ran out in many stores, as did sweets and items to distract children.[32]

The strike continued until midnight, when women returned to work. The typesetters returned to set newspapers which were almost entirely devoted to the womens' strike.[31]

Woman achieved their intended goal, basically shutting down Iceland for the day.[31] Men referred to this day as "the Long Friday" [32] Vigdis referred to the event saying, "What happened that day was the first step for women's emancipation in Iceland, it completely paralyzed the country and opened the eyes of many men."[32]. In the year following the strike, Iceland set up the Gender Equality Council, and passed the Gender Equality Act, which prohibited gender discrimination in the workplace and in schools.[8]

2016

On October 24 2016 women left work at 2:38pm, for the 41st anniversary of the original women's day off.[34] This indicated that women have gained only a half an hour more in pay in 11 years, that is slightly less than three minutes per year.[35]

The International Women's Strike, a global version inspired by the Icelandic strike, spread in 2017 and 2018.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Gender Inequality Index". United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Birgisdottir, Hera; Bjarnadottir, Ragnheidur I.; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Geirsson, Reynir T. (2016). "Maternal deaths in Iceland over 25 years". Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 95 (1): 74–78. doi:10.1111/aogs.12797. PMID 26459287.
  5. 1 2 "Statistics Iceland: Educational attainment of women and men differs by region". Statistics Iceland. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "This is why Iceland ranks first for gender equality". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Smith, Colletta (7 December 2016). "Iceland: Top for equality but still 'needs to do more'". BBC News.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "The Iceland women's strike, 1975". libcom.org. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  9. 1 2 "Economies". Global Gender Gap Report 2015.
  10. ↑ Disill. "Vigdís Finnbogadóttir". english.forseti.is.
  11. ↑ "Johanna Sigurdardottir | prime minister of Iceland". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  12. 1 2 3 "The Tiny Nation of Iceland Is Crushing the U.S. in Electing Female Politicians". Fortune. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  13. 1 2 3 "Icelandic women cut working day to protest wage gap". The France 24 Observers.
  14. ↑ "The Laxdale Saga — Icelandic Saga Database". Icelandic Saga Database. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  15. ↑ Zori, Davide Marco (2016-05-02). The Norse in Iceland. 1. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935413.013.7.
  16. ↑ "BBC - History - Viking Women". Retrieved 16 September 2018. Both farming and trading were family businesses, and women were often left in charge when their husbands were away or dead. There is also evidence that women could make a living in commerce in the Viking Age. Merchants' scales and weights found in female graves in Scandinavia suggest an association between women and trade
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Friedman, Uri. "Why Thousands of Women in Iceland Left Work Two Hours Early This Week". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  18. ↑ "Daily chart: The best—and worst—places to be a working woman". The Economist. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  19. 1 2 "In Response To Gender Wage Gap, Women In Iceland Leaving Work Today At 14:38 - The Reykjavik Grapevine". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 24 October 2016.
  20. ↑ Hertz, Noreena (24 October 2016). "Why Iceland is the best place in the world to be a woman". The Guardian.
  21. 1 2 "Katrin Jakobsdottir: Iceland gets tough on equal pay". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  22. ↑ Brewer, Kirstie (2015-10-23). "The day Iceland's women went on strike". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  23. ↑ "Iceland — Government and society | history — geography". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  24. ↑ "Women Win 30 Seats In Iceland's Parliament — More Than Any Party". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  25. 1 2 3.2, Disill. "Vigdís Finnbogadóttir". english.forseti.is. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  26. 1 2 3 "Vigdis Finnbogadottir | president of Iceland". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  27. 1 2 3 "The Icelandic women who became the no 1 first in history". Icelandmag. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  28. 1 2 "Women in Iceland will stage a walkout from work today". Icelandmag. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  29. ↑ "Johanna Sigurdardottir | prime minister of Iceland". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  30. ↑ "Icelandic women cut working day to protest wage gap". The France 24 Observers. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Icelandic women strike for economic and social equality, 1975 | Global Nonviolent Action Database". nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Brewer, Kirstie (2015-10-23). "The day Iceland's women went on strike". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  33. 1 2 "Thousands of women in Iceland went on strike to get equal pay". The Independent. 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  34. ↑ "In Iceland, Women Leave Work at 2:38pm to Protest Gender Wage Gap". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  35. ↑ "Icelandic Women on Strike | Kvenréttindafélag Íslands". Kvenréttindafélag Íslands. 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  36. ↑ James, Selma (2018-03-08). "Decades after Iceland's 'day off', our women's strike is stronger than ever | Selma James". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  37. ↑ CNN, Judith Vonberg and Laura Perez Maestro. "'If women stop, the world stops:' Women down tools for 'feminist strike'". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  1. ↑ Source: Global Gender Gap Reports for; 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009. Note that in 2008 Iceland placed number 4 behind Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
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