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.

In 2018, Iceland made unequal pay for equal work illegal; companies and government agencies with over 25 employees face heavy fines. In 1968, the Arctic Ocean herring fishery collapsed as a direct result of overfishing. The once-plentiful Atlantic herring was on the verge of extinction, and Iceland’s economy took a sharp tumble. Fish processing plants were abandoned, boats sat idle in harbors and docks no longer hosted lively gatherings. But even as many herring girls returned to domestic duties, their impact on Icelandic politics and society continued to resonate.

• 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.
• Most women’s organizations at the time were focused on helping the sick and the poor.

Both farming and https://www.wikihow.com/Respond-to-a-%22How-Are-You%22-Text trading were family businesses, and women were often left in charge when their husbands were away https://thegirlcanwrite.net/icelandic-women/ or dead. There is also evidence that women could make a living in commerce in the Viking Age. Merchants’ scales and weights found in female graves in Scandinavia suggest an association between women and trade.

The Equal Status and Equal Rights irrespective of Gender Act mandates equal pay and equal terms of employment for the same jobs or jobs of equal value. The equal pay law requires companies to prove the payment of employees at equal rates for equal work or pay a $385 fine per day. 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. That means from early education through university, which is free, all sports, classes, and forms of schooling must include and practice gender equality.

A Better World Is Possible: The 1975 Icelandic Women’s Strike

The age of settlement is considered to have ended in the year 930 with the establishment of Alþingi. Women in IcelandA procession in Bankastræti in Reykjavík on July 7th 1915 to celebrate women’s suffrage. The museum director adds, “They had to be ready to start working whenever the ships arrived.

Icelandic CrossFit Women – Björk Odinsdóttir

And, you know, this is also an ongoing issue that we need to be tackling and need to be dealing with. But hopefully, we’re moving forward with that a little bit more. So it’ll be really interesting to follow what happens in that case. Iceland’s first women’s organization was founded in the countryside in 1869. It’s focus was to foster more unity and cooperation among women in the region. They also collected money to buy a knitting machine that all members could use. You might have heard of some of the women I’m featuring but there are others that you have probably never learned about.

„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 https://clothstor.000webhostapp.com/category/how-to-date-women be a woman.

On 24, October 1975, Icelandic women went onstrikefor the day to “demonstrate the indispensable work of women forIceland’s economy and society” and to “protest wage discrepancy and unfair employment practices”. It was then publicized domestically as Women’s Day Off (Kvennafrídagurinn). Participants, led by women’s organizations, did not go to their paid jobs and did not do any housework or child-rearing for the whole day. Ninety percent of Iceland’s female population participated in the strike.

They are currently ranked as the 17th best women’s national team in the world by FIFA as of December 2019. At the 2013 UEFA Women’s Championship, they took their first point in a major championship, following a draw against Norway in the opening game. Iceland has national women’s teams for basketball, handball, volleyball, and the women’s national football team which represents Iceland in international women’s football.

TheUnited Nationsannounced that 1975 was going to beInternational Women’s Year. A representative from a women’s group called theRedstockingsput forward the idea of a strike as one of the events in honor of it. The committee decided to call the strike a “day off” since they thought that this term was more pleasant and would be more effective in engaging the masses. As well, some women could have been fired for going on strike but could not be denied a day off. Women’s organizations spread the word about the Day Off throughout the country. The Day Off event organizers got radio stations, television, and newspapers to run stories about gender-based discrimination and lower wages for women. It appears that this process did contribute to policy changes.

There were no shifts or pre-scheduled hours.” As vessels approached, local boys ran or biked from house to house, knocking on windows to wake the women up. For women who weren’t indentured, life still revolved around domestic chores and was largely rural, as sheep-rearing was the largest industry on the island. “These women were used to being home alone all year round, cleaning, cooking and caring for their families,” says Elefsen. Within a few years, Icelanders had not only mastered the same high-yield fishing techniques used by the Norwegians but also perfected their own.