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On October 24,1975, when 90% of the female population participated in the "Women's Day Off" to protest against wage inequality and other gender-related social injustices.

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Database Narrative

There were many organizations dedicated to the realization of full women's rights in Iceland in 1975, drawing from a history of previous women's movements that dealt with the issues of suffrage, national independence, and equal rights. Such movements had lost momentum since the 1920s when groups of women had put together women's slates for election to parliament and municipal governments.

In 1975 the United Nations declared the International Women's Year. When this was announced a group of representatives from five major women's rights organizations, including the Women's Liberation Movement, or Redstockings, met to plan events for the year. One such event they planned was a women's "day off" to show the importance of women for Iceland's economic and social well-being.

Those women who worked outside of the home in Iceland made less than 60 percent of the wages that men made. Women were also often unable to get jobs because they did most, if not all, of the housework and child rearing. 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.

Women were not to attend work if they had paid jobs, nor do any of the housework or child-care they normally did. The women's organizations spread word of the "day off" quickly through the small country of 220,000 people. Employers prepared for the presence of large numbers of children who would have to come to work with their fathers. The strike was scheduled for October 24, 1975.

When the day arrived, 90 percent of Icelandic women participated. There was no telephone service. Newspapers were not printed because all the typesetters were women. Theaters shut down because actresses refused to work. Schools closed, or operated at limited capacity, because the majority of teachers were female. Airline flights were cancelled because flight attendants did not work that day. Bank executives had to work as tellers to keep the banks open because the female tellers had taken the day off.

Meanwhile the men had to take their kids to work and provide them with food because daycares were closed and women would not do any of the work they normally did at home.

A mass meeting was scheduled in the center of Reykjavik, Iceland's capital, which 25,000 women attended. The women created huge traffic jams as they walked to the meeting where speakers addressed the inequality of women in Icelandic society and the necessity of a female perspective in national politics.

The strike lasted until midnight that night, when the typesetters returned to work on papers for the next day. These papers contained nothing besides articles on the women's strike.

The next year, Iceland's parliament passed a law guaranteeing equal rights to women and men. Although this 1976 law did little to change the disparity in wages and employment for women, it was a large political step towards true equality. The strikers had clearly achieved their goal and demonstrated the undeniable importance of women and their work in Iceland. The strike also paved the way for the election of Iceland's, and the world's, first democratically elected female president five years later.

Gender inequality is still an issue in Iceland and every ten years, on the anniversary of this initial strike, women stop all work to demonstrate their important positions and continue the struggle for equality.

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Icelandic women strike for economic and social equality, 1975

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Database Narrative There were many organizations dedicated to the realization of full women's rights in Iceland in 1975, drawing from a history of previous women's movements that dealt with the issues of suffrage, national independence, and equal rights. Such movements had lost momentum since the 1920s when groups of women had put together women's slates for election to parliament and municipal governments.

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

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Human rights are the natural entitlement of all persons, of whatever nation, regardless of their residence, gender, nationality, race, religion, language or other status. All of us are equally entitled to enjoy basic human rights free from discrimination. They include a variety of interconnected and often inseparable rights.

Human rights therefore cannot be granted by legislation or determined by legal definitions but instead reflect the values and ethical criteria on which the justice system is based. On the other hand, human rights are often defined and guaranteed by law, for instance, through conventions and other sources of international law. International legislation lays down the obligations of governments to follow certain precepts in order to encourage the protection of the rights of individuals or groups; these obligations can be both positive and negative. Governments may not, for instance, violate their citizens' basic rights and, furthermore, must undertake specific measures to protect individuals and groups against human rights violations. At the same time, states may have to take certain actions to ensure that various groups or individuals are better able to exercise or fully capable of enjoying their human rights.

The Icelandic Constitution sets out the human rights which the country's citizens are to enjoy. The Constitution takes precedence over other legislation, which must comply with the provisions of the former. Legislation which fails to do so can be judged invalid by the courts.

As stated in Art. 65 of the Constitution everyone shall be equal before the law and enjoy basic human rights irrespective of gender, religion, opinions, national origin, race, colour, property, birth or other status. The same Article states, furthermore, that men and women shall enjoy equal rights in all respects.

Iceland is a signatory to a number of international conventions on human rights, in particular the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Council of Europe's European Convention on Human Rights. The Ministry of Justice oversees amendments to legislation when necessary to satisfy Iceland's international legal obligations and reports to committees monitoring the implementation of human rights agreements to which Iceland is a party.

Gender equality

The Icelandic legislation on gender equality is Act on the Equal Status and Equal Rights for Women and Men, No 10/2008. The objective of the Act is to create and maintain equal rights and opportunities for women and men, and in so doing equalise the status of both genders everywhere in the community. The Ministry of Welfare is responsible for enforcing the Act. The Centre for Gender Equality is an independent institution under the auspices of the Ministry which supervises the implementation of the Act, provides advice, public education and information concerning gender equality.

Within a year from the election of a new parliament, the Minister for gender equality must submit a proposal for a parliamentary resolution on a four-year action programme for gender equality, after having received proposals from individual ministries, the Centre for Gender Equality and the Equal Rights Council, and having regard for discussions at an equal rights congress held at two-year intervals.

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Human rights are the natural entitlement of all persons, of whatever nation, regardless of their residence, gender, nationality, race, religion, language or other status. All of us are equally entitled to enjoy basic human rights free from discrimination. They include a variety of interconnected and often inseparable rights.

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

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Madame President, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

(pronounced Vig-dees Fin-boe-guh-doe-tier)

In the spring of 1930, in the city of Reykjavik, a baby girl was born who would give Iceland yet another unique claim. Her name was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, and she would grow to be the world's first free and fairly elected woman to lead a democratic nation.

The daughter of a nurse and a civil engineer, Vigdís had an ideal upbringing. She was given a well-rounded education and studied at multiple universities throughout Europe, gaining degrees in French and drama. The early part of her career was spent as the director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company (Leikfélag Reykjavíkur), teaching French and hosting cultural programming on Icelandic State Television. She was married in 1954 for nine years after which she adopted her daughter Astriður.

On a sunny day in October 1975, the women of Iceland united and staged a protest that would change the direction of the small country forever. The strike, now referred to as Women's Day Off, inspired the nation to turn the corner on women's rights. Finnbogadóttir herself, attributes this monumental event to her election. Soon after, with the encouragement of her supporters, Finnbogadóttir ran for and narrowly won the presidential race, becoming not only Iceland's, but the world's first democratically elected female president. The election of a 50 year old, divorced, single working mother and her subsequent, unprecedented 16 year incumbency, has given an entire generation of Icelanders the gift of gender blindness.

During her four terms as president, Vigdís chose to focus on the preservation of Icelandic culture and heritage and continuing her fight for equality and human rights. Now into her late 80's, she is still a beloved icon and prominent figure strongly involved in philanthropic pursuits.

Iceland has long since been a leader in the world in terms of acceptance and tolerance. From Icelandair Hotels, offering comfortable hotel accommodations across the country, and now offering a new hotel in the south Iceland village of Vik. We hope you have enjoyed this short glimpse into the colorful history of Iceland!

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Iceland's First Female President | Icelandair Hotels

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Madame President, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (pronounced Vig-dees Fin-boe-guh-doe-tier) In the spring of 1930, in the city of Reykjavik, a baby girl was born who would give Iceland yet another unique claim. Her name was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, and she would grow to be the world's first free and fairly elected woman to lead a democratic nation.

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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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In 1975, the women of Iceland took a “day off” from their usual jobs - and relations between Icelandic men and women were never quite the same again.

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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 women still earned just 86% of the salary usually given to men.

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Thousands of female employees across Iceland walked out of workplaces at 2.38pm on Monday to protest against earning less than men.

Iceland is the best country in the world for gender equality, yet women still earn on average 14 to 18 per cent less than their male colleagues. According to unions and women's organisations, this means in every eight hour day women are essentially working without pay from 2.38pm.

In the Nordic country's capital, Reykjavik, thousands of women gathered in central Austurvöllur square when they left the offices, shops, factories, and schools where they were supposed to be working. Similar but smaller protests are thought to have taken place around the country.

The action had precedent: on 24 October 1975 Icelandic women took a "day off". An estimated 90 per cent of the female population participated, leaving work and refusing to cook or look after children to draw attention to their importance in society, but lack of political power and equal pay.

In 2005, women left work at 2.08pm - the minute they began working for free.

In 2008, it was 2.25pm.

In eleven years, less than three minutes has been gained anually towards eliminating the gender pay gap, English-language Icelandic news site reported.

If progress continues at the same rate, it will take 52 years to eliminate the disparity between men and women's earnings in Iceland entirely.

Gylfi Arnbjörnsson, president of the Icelandic Confederation of Labor, toldthe country's official national broadcaster RÚV, that for 60 years it has been illegal in Iceland to discriminate on the basis of gender. Wage contracts can take into account education level and type of job, but not whether someone is male or female.

"No one puts up with waiting 50 years to reach a goal," Mr Arnbjörnsson said. "It doesn't matter whether it's a gender pay gap or any other pay gap. It's just unacceptable to say we'll correct this in 50 years. That's a lifetime."

Unfortunately, despite the large wage gap, women in Iceland actually fare quite well in the workplace compared to female workers in many other parts of Europe. According to a recent survey which placed the wage gap in Iceland at only 14 per cent, women in the UK are earning nearly 20 per cent less than their male counterparts. This means women in Britain are essentially working for free everyday from 19 October until the end of the year.

A 26-year-old from Reykjavik who took part in the action pointed out how disheartening the statistics are.

She told Refinery29: "We know that no country in the world has reached gender equality, but today reminds me that not even the country that's supposed to have the most equal rights pays women the same as men".

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Thousands of women in Iceland went on strike to get equal pay

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Thousands of female employees across Iceland walked out of workplaces at 2.38pm on Monday to protest against earning less than men. Iceland is the best country in the world for gender equality, yet women still earn on average 14 to 18 per cent less than their male colleagues.

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

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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. Much more effective, in any case, than the alternatives currently in place elsewhere. Introduced in 2018, the policy requires companies and institutions with more than 25 employees to prove that they pay men and women equally for a job of equal value. If companies show they pay equally for the same positions, they receive certification. Beginning in 2020, certification became a requirement and companies without certification incur a daily fine. The few issues that have thus far emerged, such as the burdensomeness of the process for managers, are start-up problems, moreover, not long-term consequences. And what's more: the system has stimulated both-in-firm and societal discussions about how jobs are valued, based on what criteria, and whether these criteria are still relevant in the current society and labor market.

In most countries, men and women doing the same work earn different amounts. This discrimination is popularly known as the gender pay gap. And despite efforts to close it, particularly amongst advanced industrial countries, it persists. Part of the problem is that policy solutions to eradicate unequal pay have focused on changing individual workers' behavior. More often than not, women are tasked with entering male-dominated professions; or female employees are expected to more effectively assert themselves in the workplace. There may be a better way.

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How Iceland Is Closing the Gender Wage Gap

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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. Much more effective, in any case, than the alternatives currently in place elsewhere.