This referenced policy change would be the change in the law the following year, 1976, regarding gender discrimination in pay . Very nearly half of the population participated in the process . The creation of a new political party, the Women’s Alliance, which won seats in parliament in 1983, demonstrates attitude change . Even more dramatic evidence of attitude change is that Vigdis Finnbogadottir was elected the first female president of Iceland five years after the strike .

The ideal body type among US women is shifting away from “thin,” with increasing numbers striving for a “toned” physique, according to 2018 research by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. This can also be seen in the “strong not skinny” movement which has been championed on social media in recent years and has been tagged 9.5 million times on Instagram. Davidsdottir told Insider she found fitness culture for women to be very different in both countries. Today, on International Women’s Day, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to five empowering women in Iceland.

  • She became minister of social affairs in 1987, a position she held until 1994.
  • Herring girls’ organizing efforts took place around the same time that women won suffrage in Iceland.
  • It identifies differences between indirect and direct gender discrimination, acknowledges gaps in wages, and recognizes that gender-based violence is detrimental to society.
  • You might have heard of a two-time CrossFit Games champions Annie Thorisdóttir and Katrin Davidsdottir.
  • Nevertheless, women still earn about 14% less than men, though these statistics do not take into account the hours worked, over-time, and choices of employment.

Iceland has had a woman as either president or prime minister for 20 of the last 36 years. In the 2016 parliamentary election covering 63 seats, 30 women were elected, increasing the number of females in the Alþingi to over 47%. Compared to the United States which sits at twenty percent, Iceland was said to have the “most equal parliament” in the world when women won 48% of the seats in 2016. After the law was brought in, more than 90% of fathers used their paternal leave. Research found that this put men and women on a more equal footing in the workplace, but did not seem to affect the pay gap. In 2012, there were plans to gradually increase the leave to be five months for each parent, plus two months of transferable leave, by 2016.

What is so interesting to me is that the Icelandic parliament discussed women’s suffrage more than once in the 19th century and most parliamentarians supported it. However, all bills that contained women’s suffrage were vetoed by Danish authorities. Those hot icelandic women bills also proposed changes in the relationship between countries as well. I was surprised at how progressive parliament was back about this topic.

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Iceland’s largest maritime museum, it occupies five former fishery buildings, including a salting station that also served as a women’s dormitory, a fish meal and oil factory, and a reconstructed boathouse. 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.

Facts About Women’s Rights in Iceland

Women were in formal work for an average of 35 hours a week, compared to 44 hours for men. In 2008, 65% of women working were doing so full-time, compared to 90% of men. Many schoolteachers were women, so schools closed or nearly so. The walkout disrupted the telephone service, and halted the printing of newspapers, as the typesetters were all women. Daycares were mostly closed, because the daycare workers were women, so men had to take their children to work. Easy-to-cook meals ran out in many stores, as did sweets and items to distract children. The strike continued until midnight, when women returned to work.

All Things Iceland is the go-to resource to learn about Icelandic history, culture, language and nature from the view of an expat. Women that had jobs did not show up for work and those that were normally at home, did not do any housework or child rearing for the whole day. Men had to take their children to work as well as scramble to feed themselves and the kids. Because women were only allowed to get the most elementary education from the established institutions at the time, Icelandic women decided to create their own private schools between 1874 and 1879.

Parliament is expected to pass the bill becoming the first country to make gender wage discrimination https://discuss.ala.org/younglibrarians/2022/10/13/brazilian-brides-sweet-loving-and-emotional-brazilian-mail-order-brides/ illegal. After passing, the government expects the law to roll into effect by 2020 in an effort to close the gender wage gap. The striking women achieved their goal of demonstrating the importance of their work, at all levels from home to workplace, to the well being of the country. While this was their main goal, and it even led to the passage of an equal rights bill, this bill did little to change the wage disparity and employment opportunities for women in the short run. That changed in 1903 but still that means that more than 50 years went by where only men with certain status in society had the right to vote.

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 https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/romantic-getaways/long-distance-relationship-quotes 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.

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During her time as president she used her position to focus on youth and to support forestry, while promoting Icelandic language and culture. After her retirement as president in 1996, Vigdis went on to become “founding chair of the Council of Women World Leaders at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University”. Two years later, in 1998, she was appointed president of the Unesco World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology. In the wake of the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, there was a swing towards female leadership.

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.