“Silence on sexual harassment and the use of force will not be tolerated on our part," the group said in a statement. Iceland’s equal pay for equal work system is still in the early stages, but initial signs suggest that requiring organizations prove they compensate employees fairly may be very effective. 1 on its list of countries actively closing gaps in gender equality. Iceland is also the world's 12th richest country ranked by per capita economic output (taking into account purchasing power parity). Equal rights to decent work and income security, Equal rights across race, ethnicity, and language, Equal rights across sexual orientation and gender identity, Equal rights for persons with disabilities, Leave to reduce infectious disease spread, Equality at work based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Equality at work based on migrant status and foreign national origin, Equality at work based on political affiliation, Leave for long-term personal health needs, Income protection during short-term illness, Income protection during long-term illness, Gender disparity in minimum age of marriage. All rights reserved. Iceland, despite being an island, is not isolated from progress towards gender equality. But the Hjalli teaching model, as practiced in the nursery school, is considered progressive even in Iceland. They encouraged women to share their stories, similar to the 2017 #MeToo campaign. In its push for gender equality, Iceland has made changes to the school system, implemented equal paternity leave and made effort to legislate equal pay. It gives birth mothers 18 weeks of paid maternity leave. Iceland, which has a strong economy based on tourism and fisheries, has been ranked the best in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum for nine years in a row. “Iceland remains the country that has the greatest equality between men and women, according to an annual report by the World Economic Forum (WEF)” (BBC, 2010). That’s the biggest challenge now.” What Iceland has discovered is that despite women breaking the glass ceiling, there still is a lot of work to be done when it comes to addressing sexual harassment and violence — and the bulk of that work needs to be done by men. The Icelandic government has pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2022. "They are not just describing what happened: They are naming the perpetrators, which is also very important," he told Al Jazeera. The gender pay gap, namely the higher salary men receive compared to women for work of the same or equal value and that can only be understood as a negative bias against women – is a worldwide problem of gender discrimination. And University of Iceland gender studies professor Gyda Margret Petursdottir similarly told the AP, “Men need to find ways to change their ideas about masculinity. Please try again later. 2021 Bustle Digital Group. Implementation of Gender Budgeting started in 2009. At the Women Political Leaders Summit, held in Iceland in November 2017, more than 250 women political leaders from around the globe discussed the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. Iceland is characterised by a high labour market activity of women but large gender gaps. “What has always been the problem with equal pay legislation is the fact that it put it on the employee to actually prove discrimination,” said Ómarsdóttir. Many countries with a high number of women in government also have generous child-care policies. The gender equality in Iceland isn't limited to simply females and males. In Iceland, such discrimination has been prohibited by law since 1961. Nowhere in the world is there more gender equality than in Iceland, according to the global gender gap index, compiled by the World Economic Forum.It’s the result of the analysis of more than a dozen datasets regarding economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment. Iceland - Equal rights across sex and gender policies. And it unfortunately doesn't end at harassment. Forty-nine Icelandic male priests and deacons recently signed a declaration vowing to protect the safety of women in the church and other places where they have power, RÚV reported. Trans people in Iceland will now be able to change their official gender according to their lived experience, and register as neither male not female (denoted with an “x” on documents). Iceland is committed to closing the gender pay gap by 2022, building on its proven track record on advancing gender equality. Iceland approved a 3-year plan on implementing gender budgeting in 2011. "We will report the harassment that we have witnessed.”. Despite being famous worldwide for its gender equality policies, Iceland women experience violence all too frequently. "It's so important for boys to understand women and respect women," newly elected Jakobsdóttir said at the Women Political Leaders Summit. Currently, the specific Icelandic profile in gender policies is reflected in the act on parental leave policies providing men with three month paternity leave. With this new legislation, Iceland hopes to close its gender pay gap by 2022. These efforts have paid off as according to the World Economic Forum’s ‘ Gender Gap ‘ report, Iceland has been the most gender-equal country for the last ten years. And in this sense, governments and parliaments can lead the way by adopting policies that have been shown to bridge the gender … According to Gudrun Jonsdottir of Sigamot, an organization dedicated to stopping incest, rape, and sexual assault in Iceland, this was the moment that people in the country began moving away from the "women-are-to-blame" attitude. In 2015, an Icelandic Facebook group called Beauty Tips launched a campaign to hold men accountable for sexual assault and abuse. While these laws have resulted in more women rising to the top ranks of business, according to Quartz, they can't alone address the social progress that still needs to be made. In Iceland, the current gender pay gap is somewhere between 14 to 18% , according to the World Economic Forum. This is surprising to some, considering more than 40 percent of lawmakers in Iceland’s parliament, the Althingi, are women. Women might be fairly compensated monetarily, but they're paying in other ways. Iceland has a gender pay gap of around 16 percent (it’s around 20 percent in the U.S.), according to figures from the Prime Minister’s Office. Iceland is characterised by a high labour market activity of women but large gender gaps. Constitutions; Equal rights across race, ethnicity, and language; Equal rights across sex and gender; Equal rights for non-citizens; Equal rights across religion; Equal rights across sexual orientation and gender … Gender Equality in Iceland 1 | Centre for Gender Equality Iceland Introduction The purpose of this overview is to provide information about Gender Equality issues in Iceland. More women in power has not equated to any kind of decrease in violence against women. Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images, gender equality policies, Iceland women experience violence, shared their stories of sexual harassment, women in the performing arts world in Iceland, declaration vowing to protect the safety of women, 2013 study by Hildur Antonsdottir and Thorbjorg Gunnlaugsdottir, Beauty Tips launched a campaign to hold men accountable. REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — For nine years in a row, the World Economic Forum has ranked Iceland as having the world's smallest gender-equality gap, and for about as long gender studies professor Gyda Margret Petursdottir has been asked how the Nordic island nation became such a paradise for women. I am an excellent example of that. Currently, the specific Icelandic profile in gender policies is reflected in the act on parental leave policies providing "At least one perpetrator has publicly apologized in a newspaper.". After looking it up, Iceland continues to top this list currently (World Economic Forum, 2014). Despite being famous worldwide for its gender equality policies, Iceland women experience violence all too frequently. The group has already seen some success, petitioning the speaker of parliament to host a sexual harassment workshop in February for Iceland's 63 legislators. ... Google has one of the most progressive parental leave policies in the U.S. “The basic tools we use can be influenced by sexually degrading language, and we need to remove that from the toolbox,” Jonsson told the Associated Press. ... with Iceland’s mean gender pay gap standing at 13.5% with the median gender pay ... We are committed to encouraging an improved gender balance throughout our business enabled by inclusive people policies and processes. Iceland is also on the forefront of equality when it comes to the LGBTQIA community, so that individuals that identify as non-binary gender are as much a part of the society as anyone else. Iceland is consistently ranked first in the world for gender equality. Commentary. Iceland's Gender Policy Holds a Lesson for Google. The Icelandic Parliament passed a Gender Autonomy Act yesterday that is a big step forward when it comes to trans and intersex people’s rights in the country. In addition to women in politics, women in the performing arts world in Iceland have also come forward with sexual harassment stories, as have women in religion. Iceland is slowly learning that strong workplace equality laws don't immediately correlate to safer environments for women. Her reply: "It isn't." Many female politicians in Iceland would never have got where we are today if it wasn’t for childcare and parental leave. Its new session of Parliament has the highest share of women parliamentarians yet, at about 45 per cent, and 6 per cent of Icelandic men are HeforShe champions. Although nearly closing the gender wage gap is most definitely a step in the right direction, Andres Ingi Jonsson, an Icelandic lawmaker for the Left Green Movement, knows more work needs to be done. Iceland is characterised by a high labour market activity of women but large gender gaps. He is one of several male parliamentarians trying to get more men involved in promoting gender equality. In November, more than 100 Icelandic women in politics shared their stories of sexual harassment. The Gender Pay Gap = not Cool! The Policy on gender equality in Iceland NOTE Abstract Iceland gender equality act dates back to 1975, the current one enforced in 2008. First among the reasons for gender gaps at work, women often forego faster careers and higher pay so they can spend more time with their kids. Currently, the specific Icelandic profile in gender policies is reflected in the act on parental leave policies providing men with three month paternity leave. Iceland gender equality act dates back to 1975, the current one enforced in 2008. While the country has some of the strongest laws when it … “It won’t be an easy day," Jonsson said. The objective is to make the impact on the genders visible, so it is possible to respond and re-evaluate policies, expenditures, and sources of … It provides useful information about the context, the legal and practical aspects of gender equality in Iceland, as well as current activities and challenges. As is the case worldwide, our incremental progress can firstly be attributed to the solidarity of women human rights defenders challenging and protesting the monopoly of power in the hands of men and the power of men over women. For eight years, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iceland No. Iceland has a female prime minister and some of the world's … However, according to Iceland… In Sweden, where women hold half of … Iceland has Europe’s highest per-capita levels of reported rapes, according to statistics agency Eurostat, and according to a 2010 study conducted by the University of Iceland, 30 percent of Icelandic women aged 18 to 80 reported they'd been physically assaulted at least once, with 13 percent saying they'd been raped or suffered attempted rape. An additional 2013 study by Hildur Antonsdottir and Thorbjorg Gunnlaugsdottir, who were affiliated with the University of Iceland, found that of the 189 cases of rape that were reported to police in 2008 and 2009, just 21 resulted in convictions. Iceland also had a female prime minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, from 2009 until 2013, and just elected another woman, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, to office in November. And, starting in 2018, the Equal Pay Law will regularly audit companies to ensure they're paying men and women the same for comparable work. The law requires companies with 25 or more employees to obtain certification on the basis of an equal pay standard to prove that they offer equal pay for work of equal value, regardless of gender. Summary. This includes legislative changes for women’s sexual and reproductive freedoms as well as robust equality … Still, at least 137 Icelandic female politicians reported receiving comments from men telling them they needed to lose weight, or attributing their success to their husbands or boyfriends. Policies. This landmark piece of legislation will make Iceland the first country in the world to truly enforce equal pay between women and men. While the country has some of the strongest laws when it comes to equality in the workplace, including equal pay for equal work, women still regularly encounter sexual harassment and assault in and outside of the professional world. There was an error. The campaign for women’s equality in Iceland has demanded government action to liberate women from social structures that have kept them down for centuries. According to BBC, Iceland is the top country in the world for gender equality. Iceland was ranked first in the World Economic Forum's 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden. Icelandic law requires private companies to have at least 40 percent women on their boards and to provide equal parental leave for men and women. Iceland is committed to equal opportunity in recruitment and employment irrespective of gender. In 2009, Iceland became the first country to completely close the gender gap in education and health. 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