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 .
It was decided that the women of Iceland would go on strike for one day in order to remind the people of Iceland how important women were to Icelandic society, and to bring attention to the low pay of women . This was the first time a women’s strike of nearly all the women of the country was used in Iceland . Grassroots activism at such a scale unsurprisingly had a significant material impact. Within five years, the country had the world’s first democratically elected female president – Vigdis Finnbogadottir. Now in her 80s, this steely-eyed powerhouse tells me of the impact that day of protest had on her own career trajectory. Iceland has received media attention for its work towards equality in the workplace, especially for its efforts to close the gender wage gap, but Iceland continues to have an unadjusted gender pay gap of 14% between men and women. Toward the beginning of the boom years, the herring girls had capitalized on their sudden and dramatic economic power.
- 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.
- 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.
- These extraordinary women have shaped the history and culture of Iceland and have certainly inspired others.
- Ásta told me that one of the advantages she brings to the queer women’s history project is that she has a huge network of women that she can talk to about recent history.
On that day, 90 percent of the female population in Iceland didn’t show up for work, didn’t change a dirty diaper, didn’t pick up an iron, or step into the kitchen. The day has been referred to as the “Long Friday” by many men, because it was the first time they had to take care of their children and do household tasks like cleaning and cooking, and it was found to be a very long day. Businesses had to close because men icelandic beauties had to stay home with their children since many facilities such as schools were closed due to the lack of workforce that day.
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 rest of the fields are either numbers, dates, or fixed options—we call these ‘Fixed Data’ fields. While viewing a case, method, or organization entry, click the red pen icon in the http://digitalguerillas.ning.com/forum/topics/ketoviante-diet-lose-weight-get-slim-sexy-figure bottom right-hand corner to add to or amend the entry’s content. “I’m really thankful for our culture in Iceland for how open it is, how women are leading the way, and I very much want to be part of continuing that,” Davidsdottir said.
The Role of Women in Research
The Norwegian fleets brought jobs, too, from staffing fishing boats to building docks to salting herring for sale in markets across the world. TheInternational Women’s Strike, a global version inspired by the Icelandic strike, spread in 2017 and 2018. It’s not uncommon to find our gyms here packed out from 6am through to 8pm.
The strike was orchestrated to raise awareness of the important contributions of women in Icelandic society, and additionally, it spurred people to action . The women’s absence from the workplace and from the home for the day was a very effective method to bring awareness to all that women did . The following year, a law banning wage discrimination based upon gender was passed . Five years after the strike, Iceland’s first female president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, was elected; in 1983, the Women’s Alliance, a new political party, won seats in the parliamentary election .
This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user’s privilege to post content on the Library site. Today, March 8, marks International Women’s Day, a day recognized by the United Nations and celebrated around the world. During the Viking Age, Norse women worked in farming and commerce alongside men, and were often left in charge while their husbands were away or had been killed.
“It was a great personal reminder to talk about myself respectfully, especially around my own daughter.”
Those women who worked outside of the home in Iceland made less than 60 percent of the wages that men made. Women were also often unable to get jobs because they did most, if not all, of the housework and child rearing. The goal of the strike was to protest the wage discrepancy and unfair employment practices by demonstrating the crucial roles of women in Icelandic society. Of course, this work of refocusing our historical awareness and filling in the archival gaps is not unique to Iceland.
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 http://howto.yellow.co.nz/uncategorized/report-on-one-of-the-best-russian-relationship-websites-to-fulfill-a-soulmate/ do women return to work after giving birth faster than before, they return to their pre-childbirth working hours faster, too.
