Recent developments in the news have shown that equal rights and opportunities for women, let alone basic respect for their bodies, is a battle that has yet to be won, even in what we thought were mor
Recent developments in the news have shown that equal rights and opportunities for women, let alone basic respect for their bodies, is a battle that has yet to be won, even in what we thought were more advanced societies. Now that we know why and how women’s rights are more often trampled than not, we thought here at Insiders to look for counter examples and countries that are actually leading the way in gender equality and try to understand how they go about it.
In this edition of Insiders we are taking you to Iceland – a country that ranks number one when it comes to closing the gender gap – whether it be the pay gap, access to education, to health, to job opportunities and ensuring that both men and women can evenly share responsibilities as parents. As you’ll soon discover, it takes both strong laws (like making it illegal to pay women less than men) and education at the earliest age to achieve or at least get closer to achieving gender equality.
And what you’ll also find out is that gender equality actually makes for a better and thriving socio-economic and cultural environment for both men and women.
The government of Iceland, currently headed by Europe’s youngest female leader aged 42, has committed to closing the gender pay gap by 2022. The world Economic Forum estimates that it’ll take an average of 217 years total in the rest of the world.