The strikers hope that men will take over this Tuesday the unpaid work that often falls to women.
The day has been held six times since 1975 in Iceland — when 90% of the country’s women came out to protest — but this is the second time the strike has been observed all day, explained Steinunn Rögnvaldsdóttir, a member of the organizing committee.
“We are celebrating… our foremothers, our models of equality,” said Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, 58, an Icelandic lawmaker. “We need equality, we need justice, we need freedom, so this is a message from Iceland: we have to stay united.”
A paradise of equality?
With a population of less than 400,000, Iceland is considered one of the most progressive countries in the world on gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index for 14 consecutive years.
In the country, the average salary difference between men and women was 10.2% in 2021, according to the national statistics agency. But in some industries and professions, women earn at least 20% less than Icelandic men, according to Statistics Iceland.
“This day is for all women in Iceland,” said Sonja Rut Adalsteinsdottir, 41, who works at a company that makes equipment for the food industry.
40% of Icelandic women suffer gender and sexual violence throughout their lives, according to a study by the University of Iceland.
“We want to draw attention to the fact that we are called a paradise of equality, but there are still gender disparities and there is an urgent need to act,” said Freyja Steingrimsdottir, organizer of the strike and communications director for the Icelandic Federation of Public Workers.
“Female-led professions, such as health services and childcare, remain undervalued and much lower paid,” Steingrimsdottir told Reuters on Monday.
With information from AFP and Reuters