Iceland’s PM Joins Women’s Strike for Gender Pay Gap
Image Source: The Telegraph
In an extraordinary show of unity and determination, thousands of women, joined by Iceland’s Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, took to the streets on Tuesday to participate in a strike aimed at addressing the gender pay gap and gender-based violence. This strike, known as “kvennafrí,” or women’s day off, marked a historic day in the ongoing battle for gender equality.
With women constituting the majority of the workforce, particularly in sectors like healthcare and education, the strike highlights the profound influence women wield in Iceland’s workforce. This marked the first full-day women’s strike in the country since the historic 1975 event.
Women, and inclusively, non-binary individuals, were encouraged to refrain from engaging in both paid and unpaid labor for the duration of the strike, which also encompassed housewives and their domestic responsibilities. Although a few preschools and primary schools have been shut down, a select few still functioning are working with a smaller number of facilities.
Before the start of the strike, Iceland’s PM said, “I will not work this day, as I expect all the women [in the cabinet] will do as well.” She further added that her administration was investigating the valuation of women-dominated fields, in contrast with male-dominated fields.
As reported by the Icelandic Teachers’ Union, the major part of the employees in the field of teaching are women, which includes 94% of kindergarten teachers.
The biggest hospital in Iceland, the National University Hospital, has 80% of its workers as women.
The protest organizer, Kristín Ástgeirsdóttir, in conversation with BBC Newshour, stated that violence against women remains a problem in Iceland despite high levels of gender equality. “The theory was that the more gender equality, the less violence. That, unfortunately, does not seem to be the case,” she further said, “Violence against women is deeply rooted in our culture.”
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