Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.11.2018, Blaðsíða 12

On October 24, thousands of women
walked out of their jobs to protest
sexual harassment, the persis-
tent income gap, and other forms of
gender-based discrimination. They
gathered at Arnarhöll,
in central Reykjavík
under the s logan
of “D on’t Change
Women, Change the
World.” The coordi-
nated walk-out was at
14:55, in keeping with
the assertion that
women are on average
only paid for 74% of an
eight-hour day, when
compared to men.
Amongst the protest-
ers were Iceland’s
second female Prime
M i n i s t e r, K a t r í n
Jakobsdóttir, and the women in her
staff. Speakers at the rally included
Iceland’s first female prime minister,
and the world’s first openly queer head
of government, Jóhanna Sigurðardót-
tir, in addition to Sólveig Anna Jóns-
dóttir, the newly-elected insurgent
chair of the labour union Efling. The
event also included performances
from prominent sing-
ers and groups from
many genres of music.
Attendance was so
great that bus routes
had to be changed to
transfer people to the
event.
Slow and Steady
wins the race?
This form of direct
action was an inten-
tional reference to the
first Women’s Day Off,
held in 1975. On Octo-
ber 24 that year, nearly all women in
Iceland did not go to their jobs and/or
did none of the housework. Men knew
it was coming and planned accordingly,
but it was still a very effective demon-
stration. One of the key organisers,
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, would be elected
President five years later, becoming
Iceland’s and the world’s first elected
female head of state. Other “Days Off”
were held in 1985, 2005, 2010, and 2016.
2005 marked the shift from a whole
day off to the symbolic walk-out; that
year it was at 14:08. In 2010 it was 14:25
and in 2016 it was 14:38. At that current
rate of change, women’s average pay
will not equal men’s until 2047.
Choosing the Correct
Frame
The day after the protest, Minister of
Justice Sigríður Á. Andersen of the
Independence Party posted a Face-
book status in which she cherry-picked
a statistic from a ministerial report
that showed only a five percent pay
gap in Iceland. This is true when men
and women have the same job. Former
Minister of Social Affairs Þorsteinn
Víglundsson criticised Sigríður’s
narrow reading, pointing out that
social factors—like the oft-cited “glass
ceiling”—keep women out of higher
positions. Less than a fifth of manage-
rial positions are held by women. In
addition, fields dominated by women
are not valued as highly as stereotypi-
cally male fields, even if they require a
similar level of education. Earlier this
year, midwives had to fight hard to be
paid the same wage as nurses, even
though being trained as a midwife
requires more years of education than
a nursing degree.
Þorsteinn was the author and propo-
nent of Iceland’s landmark equal pay
law. Another equal pay law had been
on the books for decades with little
effect, but Þorsteinn’s new legislation
requires companies with more than 25
employees to periodically prove they
are paying men and women the same
for the same work. Enforcement has
gotten off to a rocky start, though: the
goal of “same pay for the same work”
has nearly been reached, but that is
too limited of a metric for complacent
management.
Themyscira This Is Not
Iceland is often regarded as the most
feminist country in the world. It has
made impressive strides toward equal-
ity and is ranked highly on many meas-
ures, but it is not perfect. The #MeToo
movement that swept around the
world, particularly the entertainment
industry in the United States, made its
way to this Nordic dreamland. Many
women, and some men, in the country
used the hashtag to share their experi-
ences of sexual harassment, assault and
rape, though few men have been outed
as perpetrators. Iceland has strict libel
laws and they may be keeping names
out of the stories. However, that may be
changing. Several months ago the CEO
of Reykjavík Energy was implicated in
a sexual harassment controversy. The
survivor went public because of inac-
tion within the company, claiming
management ignored her complaints
because of the CEO’s good job perfor-
mance.
A study released at the beginning of
the year found that only 11% of CEOs in
large Icelandic companies are women.
This is despite a law requiring at least
40% of board members be women.
Business is not the only area still
struggling with this issue. Last year,
Social Democrat city councilor Heiða
Björg Hilmisdóttir gathered stories
of sexism from women in every party
from right to left, further demonstrat-
ing a systemic problem.
Iceland has made great strides
since the first Women’s Day Off, and
women have contributed immensely to
all aspects of life in the country, but a
cracked glass ceiling still holds women
back.
Words:
Colin Arnold
Dalrymple
Photo:
Baldur Web,
Art Bicnick,
Wikimedia
Commons
“Women have
contributed
immensely to all
aspects of life
in the country,
but a cracked
glass ceiling
still holds
women back.”
Women’s Day Off
Sparks Controversy
The gender wage gap as a flashpoint
The Women's Day Off in 2015, as seen from above
Former Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir Reykjavík Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir
12 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 20— 2018