The women of Iceland are striking in protest against gender discrimination at work, despite having the strongest world ranking in this area. For years Icelandic woman have topped the World Economic Forum’s gender pay gap index. Britain disappointedly lags behind falling below Rwanda and Costa Rica at fifteenth.

However, on 31st October 2023 the women of Iceland will take decisive action by withdrawing their labour. Their intended outcome is to give focus on the current gender disparities that still exist today and will be calling for immediate action.

There are tens of thousands of women involved in the action including the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir.

The strike is organised by the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers, a trade union which represents local and central government workers. The action culminated due to massive frustrations around undervalued services within which women play leading roles. In some industries the pay differential can be as much as 20%.

Support for the strike is considered to be strong but is not the first time they have campaigned for change. Ninety percent of Icelandic women stopped work in protest against gender inequality back in 1975.

Their action in 1975, gave significant focus to discriminatory practises for the woman of Iceland. Recognising they still have a way to go they remain buoyant and as challenging as ever. One would expect that with the Prime Minister herself recognising the continuing discrepancies there must be hope for positive movement. Watch this space……