Announcing the new law just in time for International Women’s Day – which was on Wednesday March 8
the government said that every company with 25 or more staff members will need to earn a certificate proving that they give equal pay for work of equal value.
This means it will be made almost impossible for firms to discriminate – consciously or unconsciously – based on gender, ethnicity, nationality or sexuality.
Delivering the welcome news on International Women’s Day on Wednesday, Social Affairs and Equality Minister Thorsteinn Viglundsson said the country wants to eradicate the gender pay gap by 2022.
‘The time is right to do something radical about this issue,’ he said. ‘Equal rights are human rights. We need to make sure that men and women enjoy equal opportunity in the workplace. It is our responsibility to take every measure to achieve that.’
Iceland wants to eradicate the gender pay gap by 2022 (Picture: Getty/Myles Goode)
Similar schemes have been tried out in Switzerland, and in the US state of Minnesota, but Iceland is believed to be the first to make it a mandatory requirement for both public and private firms.
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the World Economic Forum has previously ranked Iceland as the best country in the world for gender equality.
However, even with this accolade Icelandic women earn an average of 14% to 18% less than their male counterparts.
In October, thousands of women in Iceland left work at 2.38pm – the time after which they are effectively working for free – and protested outside parliament.
The new legislation is expected to be approved by Iceland’s parliament because it’s supported by both the government and the opposition. After this, it’s hoped the law will be fully implemented by 2020.
Iceland has introduced other measures to boost gender equality, such as including quotas for female participation on government committees and corporate boards.
But although these measures have widespread support across the country’s political spectrum, Viglundsson said some people were arguing that the equal-pay law would impose unnecessary bureacracy on companies.
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