Change Icelanders can believe in
by Tom Sullivan
Protests on Austurvöllur because of the Icelandic economic crisis (2008). Photo by Haukurth via Creative Commons.
Iceland has got a lot to teach the world:
Starting January 1, 2018, it is now illegal for employers to pay women less than men. In Iceland, both public and private employers with 25 employees or more will need obtain government certification of equal pay policies. Organizations that fail to obtain the certification will face fines.
The country, according to the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, already has the most gender equity of any country. The report examines the gender gap across four dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
The United States ranks 49th, just ahead of Kazakhstan but behind Uganda.
I’m curious just how serious those fines are. Still, how is such a thing possible? Well, almost half of Iceland’s parliament is female.
But in this country, women make up only 24.9 percent of all state legislators. In Congress, it is only 19.6 percent.
Iceland taught the world how to peacefully remove a corrupt government. The world didn’t listen. Now they’re teaching the world how to enforce equal pay. Your New Year’s resolution? Do something about those this November.
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