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Iceland’s women strike over gender pay gap


www.personneltoday.com | Ashleigh Webber

Tens of thousands of women in Iceland, including its prime minister, are refusing to work today (24 October) in protest over the country’s gender pay gap and gender-based violence.

Women and non-binary people are being urged to refuse any paid or unpaid work, including household chores.

Iceland is often hailed as a global leader for gender equality, and topped the 2023 World Economic Forum gender pay gap ranking for the 14th consecutive year. However, in some professions, women still earn 20% less than men overall, according to Statistics Iceland.

Iceland has closed at least 91% of its gender pay gap and is the only country to have passed 90%.

The strike, which has been organised under the slogan “Kallarðu þetta jafnrétti?” (You call this equality?), is being coordinated by around 40 organisations.

According to the Icelandic Teachers’ Union, women make up the majority of teachers at every level including 94% of kindergarten teachers, while around 80% of workers at the country’s biggest hospital are women.

Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, one of the strike organisers and communications director for the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers, said: “We’re seeking to bring attention to the fact that we’re called an equality paradise, but there are still gender disparities and urgent need for action.

“Female-led professions such as healthcare services and childcare are still undervalued and much lower paid.”

Iceland’s prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir…


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