gender equality
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Fifty Years Later, Push For Equality Continues: Remembering The Strike That Stopped The Nation
On October 24, 1975, 90 percent of women all around Iceland went on strike. Twenty-five thousand of them gathered on Arnarhóll hill in Reykjavík to show how undervalued their contribution to society was, both in the labour market and at home, and…
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Labour Distribution In Icelandic Homes Uneven And Gendered
According to a recent national survey by Gallup, women continue to work the “third shift,” as well as carry out more domestic chores and bear more responsibility for childcare. Men experience a more even distribution of labour than women do. Two-thirds of…
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Five Men Now Sit On UN Women’s Youth Council
Bergþóra Harpa Stefánsdóttir, media representative and treasurer of the UN Women’s Youth Council, has announced that five men now join the six women who currently sit on the council. Stundin reports. The council, which has only ever been composed of women between…
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Hillary Clinton At Reykjavík Global Forum Says Gender Equality Has Long Way To Go
Hillary Clinton spoke yesterday at the Reykjavík Global Forum, which is currently taking place online between the 9th and 11th of November. Fréttablaðið reported on the story here. The Global Forum gives the following objective on its website: “The 2020 edition of…
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Beauty Salon Did Not Break Equality Laws
A beauty salon that refused to give a man a Brazilian wax was not in violation of equality laws, reports Vísir. After trying, and failing, to book an appointment for a Brazilian wax at the unnamed beauty salon, the man took his…
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Six Years Later, Gender Equality Reality Falling Short Of The Law
Despite a law codifying a form of gender equality in management positions in Iceland, that still has yet to become a reality. As reported, the law in question established that any company with more than 50 employees would have to have a…
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Icelandair To Increase Automation and Equality
Icelandair plans to increase automation and gender equality, Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO of Icelandair and Managing Director Elísabet Helgadóttir said in an interview with Vísir. The Automation Process “The passenger will do much more by himself in the future”, Bogi says, and…
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Administration of Occupational Safety and Health Demands City Re-Gender Bathrooms
A city ordinance past last summer, whereby all bathrooms in municipal buildings were made gender neutral, has been challenged by the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health in Iceland (AOSH), Vísir reports, citing an existing AOSH regulation. Councilpersons who worked to pass…
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Some 6,000 Icelanders Estimated To Be Intersex
On Monday, February, 18, Amnesty International published a new report on the right to health for people with variations of sex characteristics in Iceland. It is estimated that 1.7% of the global population is born with atypical biological sex characteristics. This means…
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Women’s Day Off Sparks Controversy
On 24 October, thousands of women walked out of their jobs to protest sexual harassment, the persistent income gap, and other forms of gender-based discrimination. They gathered at Arnarhöll in central Reykjavík under the slogan of “Don’t Change Women, Change the World.”…
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Landmark Gender Equality Law In Iceland Not Producing Significant Returns
A law passed shortly after the 2008 financial crash which was supposed to strike a gender balance in the directorship boards of Iceland’s largest companies has yet to yield such results, RÚV reports. In fact, men are in the majority of these…
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Positivity And Empowerment: Iceland Airwaves Champions Gender Equality In Music
Recently, Iceland Airwaves made headlines in the New York Times for becoming the first music festival to completely close the gender gap between performers. We wanted to know more about this achievement and talked to Anna Ásthildur Þórsteinnsson—the festival’s online manager—about intersectionality,…
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Music News: President Bongo, Airwaves For Gender Equality, G Y D A’s Moonchild
Acclaimed producer and DJ President Bongo—a former member of GusGus—has announced a new solo record. The release is the third in the LAPB (Les Aventures De President Bongo) series—an ambitious endeavour wherein Bongo “assumes the role of producer/instigator/artistic director, tasking some of…
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What Have We Won?: Gender Equality! Ok, Not Quite…
Iceland has been placed first in the Global Gender Gap Report not once, but nine times. The report, which is published annually by the World Economic Forum, measures the gender gap in the areas of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health…
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Five Myths About Iceland That Need To End
Iceland has a lot of fans. At the same time, we prefer to be admired for things that are actually true. A lot of the reasons people love Iceland, it seems, are based on some common, but easily debunkable, myths. As we…
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Two Icelanders In Gender Equality Top 100
Two Icelanders – both of whom hold (or held) political office – have made the cut for Apolitical’s Gender Equality Top 100. Apolitical, a self-described “global network for government”, has just released their Gender Equality Top 100. The list is compiled from…
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Icelandic Nurses Association To Pay School Fees For Male Nurse Students
The Icelandic Nurses’ Association has recently announced their intention to pay school fees for young male students, in order to encourage more men to become nurses in Iceland, RÚV reports. Jobs in nursing have always been seen as essentially female, and in…
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Monday News Edit: What Are Icelanders Talking About?
As we get ready to enjoy what is expected to be one of the best days of summer, we also ponder over what has been on Icelanders’ minds of late besides studded snow tires and the upcoming elections. Here’s a round-up of…
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Shorter Work Week May Also Help Gender Equality In Iceland
A lawyer for the government employees union contends that amongst the positive effects of a shortened work week would be greater gender equality. Localised experiments with a shortened work week in Iceland have already shown positive results. Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir, a lawyer…
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Bernie Sanders Praises Iceland For Equal Pay Law
The US Senator offered praise for Iceland on Facebook for being the first country to make equal pay for men and women legally binding. The law was actually passed last year, with overwhelming support from Icelandic voters, but went into effect this…
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No Nude Calendars At The Herring Plant
As part of an effort for men to respond positively to the #metoo movement, one of Iceland’s largest fish processing plants will no longer allow nude calendars in the workplace. The company in question, Síldarvinnslan, announced on their home page that they…
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Fair Pay, Fair Play: Closing The Gender Wage Gap In Iceland
I can’t remember when I became aware of the gender pay gap. I can’t remember my mum ever patting me on the back and saying, “Go get ‘em kid! Go get your almost equal pay!” Once it dawned on me—that women struggled…
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Equal Pay Act Passes Parliament
Yesterday, Alþingi passed an equal pay bill, which will require companies with 25 employees or more to guarantee that male and female employees receive the same wages for the same work. Companies will need to prove that they provide equal pay by…