Iceland PM joins women’s strike: Why the ‘world’s most gender-equal country’ is protesting inequality

‘Paradise of equality’

Iceland is a European island nation located in the North Atlantic Ocean, with a population of less than 4 lakh. Its women have made great strides in terms of representation in the workforce and legislation backing their right to equality. Many of these benefits came after a nationwide ‘women’s day off’ observed on October 24, 1975.

However, 48 years on, two key areas of concern remain — pay gap and gender-based violence. According to a report in The Guardian, in some professions Icelandic women still earn 21% less than men, and more than 40% of women have experienced gender-based or sexual violence.

“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,” said Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, a strike organiser and the communications director for the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers.

How the strike is playing out

The strike, called “Kallarðu þetta jafnrétti?” (You call this equality?) being spearheaded by labour unions, is inspired by the 1975 action. Women are saying no to all kinds of work, paid and unpaid, including household chores and looking after children.

Sectors like healthcare and education, which are heavily dominated by women, are likely to be the most affected, and many schools are shut or have curtailed hours. The hospitality and other services-based industries are also expected to be hit. The national broadcaster, RUV, said it was reducing television and radio broadcasts for the day, a AP report said.

The PM, Jakobsdóttir, has said she would not work, and expects her female colleagues to stay off work too.

A key aspect of the strike is that non-binary people have also been asked to participate, as they are seen as fighting the common problem of patriarchy.

People are being encouraged to report workplaces that try to stop them from participating in the strike, and the organisers have threatened to release a list of such organisations.

The change they want

Activists involved in the strike said women being underpaid and the issue of gender-based violence both stem from the same kind of thinking, which sees women as lesser.

“We are now trying to connect the dots, saying that violence against women and undervalued work of women in the labour market are two sides of the same coin and have an effect on each other,” Drífa Snædal, who is on the executive committee of the women’s strike, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Today we repeat the event of the first full day women’s strike since 1975, marking the day when 90% of Icelandic women took the day off from both work and domestic duties, leading to pivotal change including the world’s first female elected president of a country #kvennaverkfall pic.twitter.com/hBnSPSfahG

— MFA Iceland 🇮🇸 (@MFAIceland) October 24, 2023

The problem of the gender pay gap — women being paid less than men for the same work with the same qualifications — persists despite a 2018 law that requires companies and government agencies to prove they are paying men and women equally. Work profiles more dominated by women, such as care work and hospitality, tend to be paid lower. Migrant women, often at the bottom of the workforce ladder, are paid even lesser.

Thus, this strike is aimed more at changing societal mindsets.

The 1975 strike

Since 1975, women have staged several hours-long strikes, but this is the first full-day action. The 1975 ‘day off’ saw the participation of almost 90% of the island’s working women. According to The NYT, schools and theaters were shut, and the national airline had to cancel flights as most of the flight attendants were women.

A BBC report said, “Banks, factories and some shops had to close, as did schools and nurseries — leaving many fathers with no choice but to take their children to work. There were reports of men arming themselves with sweets and colouring pencils to entertain the crowds of overexcited children in their workplaces. Sausages — easy to cook and popular with children —were in such demand the shops sold out.”

A year later, in 1976, Iceland passed a law granting equal rights irrespective of gender.