Iceland forces firms to prove men and women are paid equally
Nordic nation pledges to eradicate gender pay gap by 2022
Iceland is believed to be the first country in the world to enforce gender pay parity.
In Iceland, and in many other countries, it’s illegal to pay men and women differently on the basis of gender without a valid reason.
But, according to NPR, “what is remarkable about the new law in Iceland is how it enforces equal pay standards... the burden is on companies to prove that their pay practices are fair”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Under the new legislation, companies and Icelandic government agencies with 25 or more employees must obtain government certification for their equal pay policies or face fines or auditing, the London Evening Standard reports.
The law came into force on 1 January and there have been calls from the US and UK to follow Iceland’s lead, the HuffPost says.
Iceland is already considered the world’s most gender-equal country in terms of pay, according to 2017 World Economic Forum statistics. The group’s Global Gender Gap report found that the country had closed more than 70% of its gender pay gap prior to the new law.
The UK was in 15th place last year, with a 16.% pay gap between men and women, the London Evening Standard says. Female managers in Britain earn £12,000 less than their male counterparts, Business Insider adds.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published