"Iceland is the only country to have closed the gender gap by more than 90%, according to the World Economic Forum, and, for the first time in its history, every national leadership position including president, prime minister, bishop and police chief is now held by a woman."
"Halla Tomasdottir, who last year became Iceland's second female president in an election in which 75% of the population voted for female candidates, put her country's world-leading success at improving gender equality down to five decades of work that followed the 1975 strike. Iceland, she told the Guardian, was powered by two sustainable energies: geothermal power and girl power."
"But, she warned, the country still had work to be done. Gender based violence is still a problem here. We still need to lift the floor for women who do the lesser paid jobs, the caring jobs in our economy, she said."
Iceland has closed more than 90% of its gender gap and currently has women occupying every national leadership role, including president, prime minister, bishop and police chief. The 1975 kvennafri (Women's Day Off) strike, when 90% of women stopped work and 25,000 gathered in Reykjavik, sparked five decades of sustained change. That movement produced milestones such as the election of the world’s first female president and widespread female electoral success. Despite these gains, gender-based violence persists and economic inequality affects women in lower-paid caring jobs, while global backlash signals new challenges.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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