Last Words: In The 50 Years Since The First Women’s March, What Has Changed?

This issue, we reached out to some friends of the Grapevine to ask one question: in the 50 years since the first women’s march, what has changed? Here are some of the responses.

“Well, women are now a driving force in Icelandic society, almost as much as men. It’s actually quite amazing thinking how much autonomy over our lives us women have gained in this short period of time, compared to the women who marched those 50 years ago. And only 55 five years ago, the first female minister was appointed, whereas now we have six women out of 11 chairs in government. There’s a magical energy in the air this year, with a female head of government, a female president, a female archbishop, a female mayor, a female rector of the University… but I think under the circumstances, it’s easy to fall into traps of blind optimism. There are still battles to be won on the grounds of feminism, even with all these notches on our belt.”  — Una Schram, musician

“Much has been achieved, for example legally and in terms of women’s participation in various fields, which is good. But there is still an undervaluation of women’s work and women’s professions; women still reduce their paid work to take care of unpaid work. The disrespect shown by society and the economy toward working-class women is unacceptable. Violence against women is still far too widespread and normalised. The institutions in this country are not adequately equipped to respond to violence against marginalised groups, such as women of foreign origin, women with disabilities, or women struggling with substance abuse. We subject refugee women and their children to violence by deporting them from safety into danger — even pregnant women or mothers with newborns. But we do, of course, have many women in positions of power.” — Alma Mjöll Ólafsdóttir, journalist

“The first Women’s Day Off galvanised Iceland’s population, changing many facets of society for the better. Despite the important gains, however, much remains to be done: eradicating gender-based violence, increasing numbers of women and other underrepresented genders in the corporate sector, and addressing the unique concerns of traditionally marginalised groups (immigrant women, non-binary women, women with disabilities, women of colour, and more), are but a few ongoing challenges. Hard-won gains can be easy to lose if we don’t stay focused; but if we are vigilant, we can continue to improve quality of life for people of all genders. I am optimistic that with dedication and persistence, we can do it.” — Eliza Reid, bestselling author of Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World