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Men and women are born into different roles that they are expected to adhere to and sometimes these gender roles are unequal economically and/or socially. Does this country have determined gender roles, and are men and women treated equally in society? In Iceland, men and women have a fair amount of gender equality because according to the World Economic Forum, this small island country is the most gender equal in the world with Norway and Finland in second and third place respectively (BBC News, 2015). When looking at this report in depth, one can see how Icelandic men and women are more equal than in other countries. The literacy rate, and enrollment in education from primary to secondary school are 98 percent for both men and women, and 89 percent for men and women enrolled in secondary school. At university level, more women are enrolled then men, with a ratio of 103 females to 60 males. (World Economic Forum, 2015). Women score a 71 percent in their political empowerment in this report because many women have been in parliament and ministerial positions, and Iceland has only had 10 more men head of states than women head of states. In the economic sector, about as many women are employed as men and for every EUR 100 an Icelandic man earns a women earns EUR 86. There still is a wage gap, but the wage gap in Iceland is smaller than most countries. According to the World Economic Forum report, women are estimated to have earned five thousand dollars less than men yearly. Specifically, Iceland ranks number five in the world for men and women's equal economic opportunity and participation. The country's health does not rank among the top countries for men and women, but women have about two children, which indicates there is birth control or contraceptives that is easily accessible. Iceland supports women's rights, and was the first nation to legalize abortion in 1935 (Rotham, 2015). So why does this report matter and why should we care about these numbers? This report is important because it tells us how Iceland can be further reformed, and the progress in terms of gender equality that the country still has to make. It also tells us about the political, educational, economic opportunities and health of men and women so that we can further discover the government policies and social norms that allow men and women to advance and prosper. The gender equality between men and women could still improve in a variety of ways. The pay gap between men and women is 20%, and is far from being equal with men still earning more than women. Icelandic women have organized strikes beginning the 1970's to try to change the pay gap so they will receive the same incomes as men do. In 2016, thousands of women went on strike to protest this pay gap, by leaving 14 percent early which is the estimated pay gap between men and women last year (WITW Staff, 2016). The pay gap has been slowly decreasing over the last few years, but the with the current rate of decrease it would take about fifty two years before men and women get paid equally. According to the Centre for Gender Equality in Iceland, "the finically situation of women and single mothers has gotten worse" (2012). Retired women are also receiving less pension payments and more women have been turning to shelters and organizations for help with the finances, while gender-based violence has been increasing in times where women have less income. Perhaps these issues could stem from economic decisions such as tax cuts, housing and industrial projects that "give more opportunities and employment of men than women" (Centre for Gender Equality, 2012). Another issue that relates to womens decreased finances may come from the lack of women in upper level management, and women who are CEO's and business executives where only "only 22% of managers are women" (Hertz, 2016). Women in Iceland still need more opportunity for promotion and career advancement. However, I believe that Iceland will continue being the most gender equal country in the world because of the recent policies and actions that the government and other organizations are taking to make sure women and men have equal rights and protection. I also think the culture of taking care of the youth, by providing child care and public schooling, and giving parents generous paid leaves from work to take care of their family, makes a significant impact in maintaining gender equality and family cohesiveness. In 2008, Iceland passed the the "Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men" which aims to do a number of tasks, including working against wage discrimination, gender-based harassment, negative gender stereotypes while increasing research, education and awareness in gender equality. (Ministry of Welfare, 2012). One of the things outlined in this act, aims to "work towards equal influence of women and men in decisionmaking and policy-making in the society", and I think this should be the main goal of the act because both genders need to be involved in making policies that affect them. I believe that if one gender is not involved then that gender may be left out of important decisions that affects their daily life. Other recent policies that the Icelandic government has passed include: "full rights for gays and lesbians, a law banning the purchase of prostitution, a law prohibiting strip-dancing clubs, and a law that will obligate public corporations to have minimum 40/60 ratio of women and men in their boards" (Centre for Gender EQUALITY, 2012). Some of these new laws may be unknown to the people outside Iceland, but people worldwide think of Iceland as a progressive country in the realm of employee maternal and paternal rights, parental support, childcare and schooling. The parental leave system equally gives mothers and fathers a total of nine months of paid parental leave, three months each for the mother and father, and three months of shared leave (Centre for Gender Equality, 2012). In fact, Iceland has the "longest parental leave entitlement for fathers in the world" (Rúdólfsdóttir, 2014). This creates a more equal atmosphere in the household because men are more likely to do housework and take on responsibilities, and women are able to go back to work faster and work the same hours as before they had a child. Men and women can equally divide up the childcare because of Iceland's equal parental leave. More than three quarters of child care is paid for by the government and is highly subsidized, which is another reason why there is "a norm of gender equality in that child care duties in Iceland are not exclusively the domain of mothers but are expected to be performed by both parents" (Kaufman, 2015). From researching these policies, Iceland is far ahead of the United States in terms of offering support and working towards equality for families, and single men and women. I think the United States should adopt some of these policies because it would improve the quality of life for U.S citizens. I was surprised to discover how focused the Icelandic parliament is on improving gender equality, so much so that it has formed committee to work on this issue, laying out new plans of action to engage men and international leaders to ensure equality between men and women and creating gender responsive budget plans.
Lastly, the historical social roles of men and women have contributed to the culture of gender equality that Icelanders experience now. In the Viking age, men and women had distinct traditional roles that could not be changed without being excluded from society. Women had domestic roles such as clothes making and child care, while men would work outside of the house and be involved in fighting wars, or government and political activities. Women could not wear mens clothes in the viking age or carry weapons. To me, this seems like typical gender roles of any European country in this time period. However, what stands out and is interesting to me, is that even in this early settlement period, women were respected as human beings and less likely to be treated as property. Women had some independence as they "managed the finances of the family... ran the farm in their husband's absence. In widowhood, they could be rich and important landowners" and women could easily divorce (Short, 2017). In Norse literature and family sagas, women had the same character traits as men including courage, strong will and honor, and it was forbidden for a man to be violent to a women. Women had to be brave pioneers as their husbands would leave for expeditions on or near the ocean, and women would have to "play the roles of farmer, hunter, architect, builder" (Hertz, 2016). From these observations, I think that some system of gender respect and appreciation from early Icelandic literature and the culture in Icelandic settelements led to a large amount of gender equality in present-day Iceland. I think the two main things that has changed over thousands of years is the transition to women's work outside of the house, where 88% of Icelandic women are now in the workforce, and women are no longer taught to be humble as in old Norse culture where women had to stay away from attention. Feminism is celebrated in public schools, and social media and grassroots activists encourage women to publicly express their opinions. Reflecting on the gender equality report, government policies, and a brief history of women and men's roles in Icelandic society, I can understand how this formed the progressive and liberal culture in Iceland that let this country rise to the top in equality for men and women. Sources BBC News . (2015, November 19). How equal are you? Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-34808717 Centre for Gender Equality Iceland. (2012, January). Information on Gender Equality Issues in Iceland. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://www.velferdarraduneyti.is/media/rit-og-skyrslur2012/Gender-Equality-in-Iceland.pdf Hertz, N. (2016, October 24). Why Iceland is the best place in the world to be a woman. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/24/iceland-best-place-to-be-women-equal-gender-maternity Kaufman, P. (2015, October 5). The Country with the Most Gender Equality in the World. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2015/10/the-country-with-the-most-gender-equality-in-the-world.html Ministry of Welfare. (2012, January). Gender Equality. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://eng.velferdarraduneyti.is/departments/gender-equality/ Rotham , L. (2015, January 28). Abortion Laws: Was Iceland the First Nation to Legalize? Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://time.com/3679288/iceland-abortion/ Rúdólfsdóttir, A. G. (2014, October 28). Iceland is great for women, but it's no feminist paradise. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/28/iceland-women-feminist-paradise-gender-gap-pay Short , W. (2017 ). Hurstwic: The Role of Women in Viking Society. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/women.htm WITW Staff. (2016, October 25). Women in Iceland protest country’s 14 percent pay gap by leaving work 14 percent early. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/10/25/women-in-iceland-protest-countrys-14-percent-pay-gap-by-leaving-work-14-percent-early/ World Economic Forum . (2015). Economies. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2015/economies/#economy=ISL
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AuthorMy name is Annawade Stevenson and I am a elementary education major at ASU. I just recently moved to Tempe, AZ. Archives |