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On October 24th, 1975 , 90% of women in Iceland left work, to demonstrate the importance of women's contribution to society. This day was popularly called “kvennafrí”, or Women's Day Off.

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When the United Nations proclaimed 1975 a Women's Year, a committee with representatives from five of the biggest women organisations in Iceland was set up to organise commemorative events. A radical women's movement called the Red Stockings first raised the question: "Why don't we just all go on strike?" This, they argued, would be a powerful way of reminding society of the role women play in its running, their low pay, and the low value placed on their work inside and outside the home. The idea was bandied about, and finally agreed to by the committee, but only after the word "strike" had been replaced with "a day off". They figured this would make the idea more palatable to the masses and to employers who could fire women going on strike but would have problems denying them "a day off".

In the days preceding the 24th it seemed that women everywhere were grouping together, drinking coffee, smoking incessantly but doing a lot of agitated talking. My granny, who was working incredibly hard in a fish factory, was not going to take the day off. But the questions raised by the women's movements whirred around her mind. Why were young men taking home higher wages than her when her job was no less physically strenuous? My mother, who was 28 and worked in a dairy, had to use all her negotiation skills to convince her boss, a hard-working woman in her 50s, that they should leave work. When my mother dropped by her boss's flat to persuade her to come to a rally that had been organised in downtown Reykjavik, she was assuaging her guilt from skiving off work by baking furiously.

In Reykjavik an estimated 25,000 women gathered to listen to speeches, sing and discuss matters - an astonishing number considering that Iceland's population was then just under 220,000. The women were from all walks of life, young and old, grannies and schoolgirls; some wore their uniforms from work, others had dressed up. "It was the real grassroots," recalls Elin Olafsdottir, who was 45 and later represented the Women's Alliance on the Reykjavik city council. "It was, in all seriousness, a quiet revolution." It was this sense of togetherness, the calm and quiet determination, that most women remember from that day. Gerdur Steinthorsdottir, then a 31-year-old student at the University of Iceland and now a teacher, helped organise the rally. She claims the participation was so widespread because women from all the political parties and the unions felt able to work together, and make it happen.

The atmosphere at the rally was incredible. Sigrun Bjornsdottir was a student of 19 and had just found out she was pregnant. It was a difficult time, she remembers, but being part of the rally made her feel that she was connected to a bigger force - empowered. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Gudrun Jonsdottir stood in the crowd, quietly crying. She could not believe that an old family friend, Adalheidur Bjarnfredsdottir, was going to be one of the rally's main speakers. She represented Sokn, the trade union for the lowest paid women in Iceland. Reading her first public speech now sends a chill down the spine. "Men have governed the world since time immemorial and what has the world been like?" she asked in her deep, gravelly voice. Answering herself, she described a world soaked in blood, an earth polluted and exploited to the point of ruin. A description that seems truer now than ever.

Iceland's men were barely coping. Most employers did not make a fuss of the women disappearing but rather tried to prepare for the influx of overexcited youngsters who would have to accompany their fathers to work. Some went out to buy sweets and gathered pencils and papers in a bid to keep the children occupied. Sausages, the favourite ready meal of the time, sold out in supermarkets and many husbands ended up bribing older children to look after their younger siblings. Schools, shops, nurseries, fish factories and other institutions had to shut down or run at half-capacity.

The women responsible for setting Morgunbladid, one of Iceland's main newspapers, returned Cinderella-like to work at midnight. The paper was half its normal size the next day and contained only articles about the strike. The bank tellers who saw their positions filled by male superiors took special pleasure in going to the bank and keeping them busy. It was a moment of truth for many fathers who were exhausted at the end of the day. Not surprisingly this day was later referred to by them as "the long Friday".

But what did Icelandic women gain by all this? For many it was a wake-up call. I, like many women of my generation, became a feminist that day at the ripe old age of 11 - despite being left at home alone with my nine-year-old sister, furious at being forbidden from attending the rally. It was a spur to action and many feel that the solidarity women showed that day paved the way for the election five years later of Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the world's first democratically elected female president. Finnbogadottir firmly believes that too. "After October 24, women thought it was time a woman became president," she says. "The finger was pointed at me and I accepted the challenge."

But 30 years later there is also a feeling of disillusionment. Bjornsdottir, the pregnant college girl who now handles PR for the educational sector of the City of Reykjavik, is sad that her daughter has not benefited more from what happened. A statistic much flaunted these days is that Icelandic women earn on average only 64.15% of men's wages. And so next Monday, on the rally's 30th anniversary, women are being encouraged to leave work at 2.08pm, the time by which they would have earned their pay if they they were earning the same as men. They plan to raid their kitchens beforehand and bring pans and pots to work, bang them together and make as much noise as possible. Whether the authorities will hear remains to be seen.
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The day the women went on strike in Iceland

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When the United Nations proclaimed 1975 a Women's Year, a committee with representatives from five of the biggest women organisations in Iceland was set up to organise commemorative events. A radical women's movement called the Red Stockings first raised the question: "Why don't we just all go on strike?"

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Iceland established the Gender Equality Council and passed the Gender Equality Act ,banning gender discrimination in the workplace an school.

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By a lot of measures, Iceland is the best place to be a woman. Iceland starts gender equality lessons in preschool. The country has not just one, but three, laws protecting women at work. Sick of media, treating women as sex objects? That doesn't fly in Iceland, where a law bans gender discriminatory advertising. Plus, the country was the first to ban strip clubs for feminist reasons.

Overall, the Nordic country has a near perfect score on the gender-equality scale. For eight years, the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iceland No. 1 on its list of countries actively closing gaps in gender equality. In 2009, Iceland became the first country to completely close the gender gap in education and health. And in 2016, Iceland was 87% of the way to closing the gender gap in all sectors.
Read More: These Are the Best Countries to Be a Woman
Clearly, Iceland is leading the way, so what are the policies and standards in place that the rest of the world is looking up to?

Here are seven laws and standard practices that support women's rights, and penalize gender discrimination.

1. Women's Equality Is Literally Protected by Law

The Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men is the reason gender equality is a hallmark of Icelandic culture. The law, established in 2000, was revamped in 2008 with the overarching goal of reaching equal rights through all paradigms of society. This law includes information on gender equality for government and businesses to follow.

Within the law there are nine defined areas of gender discrimination. It identifies differences between indirect and direct gender discrimination, acknowledges gaps in wages, and recognizes that gender-based violence is detrimental to society.

The law draws out a roadmap to achieving gender equality, even including language on changing negative gender stereotypes. Within the law are 35 articles outlining specific policies on everything from outlawing gender discrimination in schoolbooks and the workplace to buying goods and services.

2. 'Equal Pay For Equal Work' Is Mandatory, Almost

When Icelanders found out it would be another 122 years before they closed the gender pay gap at the current rate, that was unacceptable. Lawmakers took action, announcing on International Women's Day that Iceland would require companies to prove they pay employees equal rates for equal work, or pay the fine.

Parliament is expected to pass the bill becoming the first country to make gender wage discrimination illegal. After passing, the government expects the law to roll into effect by 2020 in an effort to close the gender wage gap.

Currently women make between 14-18% less than men. But the country is soon to ending the last bit of gender inequality in the workplace.

"We want to break down the last of the gender barriers in the workplace," said Thorsteinn Viglundsson, Iceland's social affairs and equality minister. "History has shown that if you want progress, you need to enforce it."

3. Companies' Boards Must Include At Least 40% Women

After the shocking corruption and financial collapse in 2009, the government made an effort to include more women in seats of power to reduce corruption. They also prosecuted those responsible for the financial crisis, unlike in the US.

Article 15 of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men states that no public company board or government council or committee may have less than 40% gender equality.
Read More: Women Across Europe Are Walking Out of Work Early to Demand Equal Pay
The law also states that any company with more than 25 employees must have a gender equality program in place, which will review goals every three years.

4. Best Parental Leave Policy in the World

Iceland has the best maternity/paternity policy in the world. The official law, created in 2000, is known as the Icelandic Act on Maternity/Paternity and Parental Leave. The law itself was amended in 2006 increasing parental leave from six to nine months. The government covers parental leave for birth, adoption, and foster care for all employees in Iceland, even those who are self-employed paying 80% of earned salary to new parents. Parents split the time of leave equally to ensure children grow up with equal care from both parents, and workplaces are balanced. The policy is truly the gold standard of parental care.

5. From Preschool to College, Kids Learn Gender Equality Matters

After kids grow up with equal time from parents, gender equality lessons don't stop. Article 23 of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men mandates that gender equality must be taught in schools throughout all levels of education.

That means from early education through university, which is free, all sports, classes, and forms of schooling must include and practice gender equality. Iceland has no time for sexist books or assignments either.

The law states: "educational materials and textbooks shall be designed in such a way as not to discriminate against either sex." So you would never see an assignment, like the school in Utah, which forced girls to go on dates with male classmates, telling girls to "keep it to yourself" if they feel fat.

6. Paying For Sex Is Illegal. Stripclubs Are Illegal. Prostitutes Are Victims.

Paying for sex is illegal in Iceland. It has been for decades. The difference, however, is in 2007 the government amended the law arguing that most people who turn to soliciting sex have no other option or were coerced by others.

So instead of penalizing victims of poor circumstances who are often forced into prostitution, the law places criminalization on those who pay for sex, and third parties involved.

The country also banned stripclubs in 2009 for feminist reasoning. The revised law states no business may profit from nudity of employees. The law passed with full support in parliament.
Read More: Iceland to Be the First Country to Demand Proof of Equal Pay
"It is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold," said Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir who proposed the ban on strip clubs.

This applies to public advertising too. No ad may belittle any gender or go against the country's fierce mission to achieve gender equality.

7. There Is a Magical 'Ministry of Gender Equality'

Ironically, the caveat to achieving gender equality for Nordic countries is taking it for granted.

"Our biggest challenge is taking equality for granted. We relax too much. We think everything is done for good. This worries me," said Gro Bruntland, Norway's first female prime minister.

Fortunately, in Iceland, there's a ministry to complacency on gender equality. The ministry of gender equality, as in Harry Potter, is magic. But unlike the fictional novel, this ministry is real.

The country created agency to check and balance progress on advancing equality as part of a revisions to the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men. The agency includes a three part council which includes the Equal Status Council, the Complaints Committee, and a new Centre for Gender Equality.

Together these agencies research, advertise, advocate, and check laws on gender equality. Their goal is to create a legal, cultural, historical, social and psychosocial approach to gender equality.

Global Citizen and CHIME FOR CHANGE are campaigning to eradicating discriminatory laws that hold girls and women back with #LevelTheLaw. Iceland sets the bar high, but they also prove changing the law works to create equal opportunities.

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7 Laws That Show Why Iceland Ranks First for Gender Equality

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By a lot of measures, Iceland is the best place to be a woman. Iceland starts gender equality lessons in preschool. The country has not just one, but three, laws protecting women at work. Sick of media, treating women as sex objects? That doesn't fly in Iceland, where a law bans gender discriminatory advertising.

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Iceland elected the world’s first female president of a democratic country.

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Iceland’s pay gap showed that women were, on average, still being paid only 64.15% of what men earned. So, on the thirtieth anniversary of the Women’s Day Off, women organized another strike and left work at 2:08 p.m.—the exact time at which they stopped being paid for equal work.

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International Women's Day observance at UNHQ:
Arabic |Chinese |English |French |Russian |Spanish

A panel discussion moderated by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Public Information. Panel Discussion:
"Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future"

Location: It will take place on 8 March, from 10 am to 12 noon in Conference Room 2.

The panellists are:

Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, DESA

Ms. Nafis Sadik, Member, High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change

Mr. Sálvano Briceño, Director, Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

Ms. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN-Habitat

Ms. Jessica Neuwirth, President, Equality Now

Programme subject to change
For further information, please contact:
Sylvia Hordosch, Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Tel: (212) 963 5450; email: hordosch@un.org

Press-Releases:

With clarion calls and worldwide events, UN marks International Women's Day

FAO will organize a discussion on "Promoting Gender and HIV/AIDS Sensitivity through Microfinance" on 8 March. During the event the new Rural Finance Learning Centre will be launched.

International Women's Day Events at the ILO Geneva

Every year, the ILO celebrates International Women's Day to emphasize its commitment to gender equality and equal recognition. This year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will celebrate International Women's Day by hosting a round table discussion and a film festival focusing on women film directors. ILO International Film Festival on Women and Work will take place from March 4th to the 10th.
The panel discussion will be held at the International Labour Office in Geneva on Tuesday 8 March from 14:30 to 16:00 and will welcome international women directors.>>>

20 Films to Celebrate International Women's Day on 8 March

In order to mark International Women's Day on 8 March this year, UNESCO's Audiovisual E-Platform proposes 20 films about women's issues, such as women's rights, development, employment, social role models, among others, which can be used for broadcasting by TV channels as well as for cultural activities or other related events planned for 8 March.

International Women's Day on 8 March

Statement of Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director
Available in: Arabic | English | French | Spanish

International Women's Day Page
Focus: Gender Equality 2005: Building a More Secure Future

Events Organized or Co-sponsored by UNIFEM >>>

Vienna International Centre
Consolidated Programme For The
Observance Of International Women's Day, 8 March 2005

This year a number of activities are planned in observance of International Women's Day at the VIC, spanning the period Friday, 4 March through Friday, 1 April 2005. >>>

UNU

UNU Meetings and Events for 8th March

Statement by Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, 8 March 2005
( Statement in French)

UNFICYP will hold a high level, bi-communal (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots) panel of women speaking on gender equality on the island. Three members of the panel participated in the Beijing Conference.

Previous years International Women's Day observances

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WomenWatch: International Women's Day 2005

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International Women's Day observance at UNHQ: Arabic |Chinese |English |French |Russian |Spanish A panel discussion moderated by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Public Information. Panel Discussion: "Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future" Location: It will take place on 8 March, from 10 am to 12 noon in Conference Room 2.

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women in Iceland again finished work early, this time at 2:38 p.m. This was to remind people that the average woman still earned just 86% of the salary usually given to men.

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We can also easily translate the lesson across cultures. If women in the United States had staged the same protest, for example, they would have left work at 2:12 PM. In South Korea, it would have been 12:36 PM. In Pakistan, 10:50 AM.

Plus, since women's-rights organizations and labor unions in Iceland have organized the demonstration in the past, we can actually measure, in minutes, the country's advances on pay equity. On October 24, 2005, women in Iceland left work at 2:08 PM. On October 24, 2010, they departed at 2:25.

It's encouraging that progress has been made. But the pace of that progress is dispiriting nonetheless. On Monday, women in Iceland left work only half an hour later than they did 11 years ago. If "the same trend continues," Vala Hafstad writes in Iceland Review, "not until 2068 will women and men enjoy equal pay."

The struggle, moreover, began well before 2005. On October 24, 1975, 90 percent of women in Iceland-that's nine with a zero after it-went on strike to campaign for equal rights. The BBC has more on that extraordinary day:

It is known in Iceland as the Women's Day Off, and [Vigdis Finnbogadottir, Iceland's first female president] sees it as a watershed moment. ...

Banks, factories and some shops had to close, as did schools and nurseries-leaving many fathers with no choice but to take their children to work. There were reports of men arming themselves with sweets and colouring pencils to entertain the crowds of overexcited children in their workplaces. Sausages-easy to cook and popular with children-were in such demand the shops sold out.

It was a baptism of fire for some fathers, which may explain the other name the day has been given-the Long Friday.

"We heard children playing in the background while the newsreaders read the news on the radio, it was a great thing to listen to, knowing that the men had to take care of everything," says Vigdis. ...

"Things went back to normal the next day, but with the knowledge that women are as well as men the pillars of society," she says. "So many companies and institutions came to a halt and it showed the force and necessity of women-it completely changed the way of thinking."

Yet here Iceland's women were, in Austurvollur square exactly 41 years later, yelling Ut. What's most sobering about Monday's rally is that it occurred in what is arguably the most gender-equal nation on earth. Iceland has had either a female president or a female prime minister for 20 of the last 36 years. Every year for the last eight years, Iceland has finished first among 100-plus 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).

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Why Thousands of Women in Iceland Left Work Two Hours Early in October

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We can also easily translate the lesson across cultures. If women in the United States had staged the same protest, for example, they would have left work at 2:12 PM. In South Korea, it would have been 12:36 PM. In Pakistan, 10:50 AM.

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Iceland decided to get tough on inequality. it became the first country to legally demand that men and women be paid equally.