It is important that Iceland maintains this approach in its effort to continue to lead as the most gender-neutral society. Going into the future, countries should implement comprehensive reforms to erase all forms of discrimination against men and women in the quest for gender equality. 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.
The country’s first women’s rights organization formed in 1894 and collected signatures on voting rights petitions. By 1907, 11,000 women and men—more than 12 percent of the population—had signed on. In 1915, women over 40 were granted the right to vote, and in 1920, the country introduced suffrage for all citizens ages 18 and up. The idea for the “strike” was formed during the first Women’s Congress in Iceland in June earlier that year where the five largest women’s organizations in Iceland gathered in Reykjavik to discuss common issues. Women were being paid 60 percent less for the same work that men were paid, and were not being recognized for the contributions they made as homemakers. The Red Stockings, a feminist organization formed in 1970, suggested that women go on strike. Iceland is a particularly interesting place to study women’s history.
- You know, the women’s shelter in Reykjavik was full and has been during the COVID pandemic.
- In January 2021, Iceland extended the parental leave system to 12 months from 10 months.
- Today, on International Women’s Day, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to five empowering women in Iceland.
- Though herring fishing had long been practiced in Iceland’s waters, the country’s herring era only began in forcein 1903, when Norwegian fishing fleets showed up with massive drift nets capable of capturing huge caches of herring.
- A women’s movement was founded by Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir in 1894, and a women’s suffrage organisation was founded in 1907.
Iceland’s record on all of these fronts is better than most countries; in the UK, women’s hourly pay is 18% less than men. Iceland celebrates its national women’s day or wife’s day, https://thegirlcanwrite.net/hot-icelandic-women/ konnuirdagin, in February. The day, which is centuries old, is marked by men taking the time to celebrate and dote on the women in their life. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, a member of the left-leaning Left-Green Movement, became Iceland’s second female prime minister. One of her actions as https://rivirdev.wpengine.com/china-standards-2035-behind-beijings-plan-to-shape-future-technology/ prime minister was to organise a new law which requires Icelandic companies to demonstrate that they pay men and women equally. She became a member of the Althing aged 31, the Minister of Education, Science and Culture at 33, and the leader of the Left-Green Movement at 37. Iceland became the third modern democratic country in which women gained the vote in 1915.
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.
Icelanders exercise more than people from any other European country
On October 24, 1975, 90% of Icelandic http://s937037723.websitehome.co.uk/1500-thailand-woman-pictures-download-free-images-on-unsplash Women went on strike for one day to remind the country of their importance. Research suggests women in the U.S. may be reluctant to lift weights for a variety of reasons, including its association with men. In the U.S., only 23.2% of adults do the recommended amount of aerobic and strength training exercise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is safe to say that one of the main reasons this policy was enacted was that women were well represented in Iceland’s parliament. Today we celebrate women worldwide and the tremendous—and hard-fought—impacts they have made in society, business, science, sports, arts, and politics. You know, the women’s shelter in Reykjavik was full and has been during the COVID pandemic.
The Role of Women in Research
Vigdís says she would not have become president without the strike which she said was the «first step for women’s emancipation in Iceland», which «completely paralysed the country and opened the eyes of many men». 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. Though the museum offers a comprehensive history of the herring years, it’s the herring girls themselves who are the stars of the show. The museum hosts salting exhibitions on its front dock, where performers—including some former herring girls—demonstrate how freshly caught herring were gutted, salted and placed in barrels. Accordion music, singing, dancing and some lighthearted theatricality accompany the shows, capturing the lively spirit of the herring boom years. 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 https://mobelcitta.com.ar/2023/01/26/assessing-dutch-womens-experiences-of-labour-and-birth-adaptations-and-psychometric-evaluations-of-the-measures-mothers-on-autonomy-in-decision-making-scale-mothers-on-respect-index-and-childbirth/ mandates that gender equality must be taught in schools throughout all levels of education.
«To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters, who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up. We need to hear your voices.» Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks with Eliza Reed, the first lady of Iceland, about her new book and why her country is a great place to be a woman.
The Daughters of Reykjavik are a feminist rap collective who rap about gender issues. For centuries, this seafaring nation’s women stayed at home as their husbands traversed the oceans.
CrossFit is a big sport in Iceland, and everyday people treat their daily workouts like the final of the CrossFit Games, CrossFit coach Karl Steadman previously said. The fitness culture is «very different» in Iceland compared to the US, Davidsdottir said, and being an athlete is thought of as «cool and aspirational.» Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. In Iceland women are encouraged to be strong, but women in the US are scared to build muscle, she said. «During the hard times, it’s important to focus on the things you can change in that moment, instead of what you should have or could have done differently.»
Women had been all but absent from pre-crisis banking boards; after the crisis, they were appointed to the new boards, and two-thirds of the bank managers appointed after nationalization were female. Women were also more successful in running for political office, with the proportion of women in parliament rising to a record 43%. In 1987 Icelandic fathers were given the right to share some of the mother’s six month family entitlement.
Thanks to mandatory quotas, almost half of board members of listed companies are now women, while 65% of Iceland’s university students and 41% of MPs are female. Because the pay is significant – 80% of salary up to a ceiling of £2,300 a month – and because it’s on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, 90% of Icelandic fathers take up their paternal leave. This piece of social engineering has had a profound impact on men as well as women. Not only do women return to work after giving birth faster than before, they return to their pre-childbirth working hours faster, too.