Iceland Makes It Illegal to Pay Women Less
Jan 5, 2018
The fight for equal pay for women has been an ongoing battle for years. Depending on where in the world you live, the pay gap between what men and women make for the same job can vary, but it exists everywhere. The fight for equal pay has started yielding results. Iceland has made a huge statement to the world with new laws that have just been enacted with the intention of shaming companies into compliance. Companies that employ more than 24 people will need to obtain government certification that female employees receive pay equal to their male colleagues for doing the same work. When job hunting or interviewing, potential employees can check to see if a company is certified before applying for or accepting a job. Employers who are not certified can be exposed to social media and those who do not obtain their certification are also open to fines for pay gaps. The law was proposed about a year ago and received a lot of support which made the law easier to pass.
Pay Inequality. The pay inequality between men and women has been an issue women have been fighting to correct for decades. There are a few places in the world attempting to adjust, but Iceland recently made a huge move in making it illegal to pay women less than men for the same job and also put in regulations and requirements to make certain that the companies comply.
Iceland. The World Economic Forum ranked Iceland Best In The World for gender equality, but women still made significantly less than men at the time. The new laws will put companies who do not pay women equally in the spotlight for ridicule, fines, and fees.
Walkout. On Women’s Day Off (October 24th) women were encouraged to walk out of their jobs at exactly 2:38 pm. The time was specifically chosen as that is the estimated time that women begin working without pay in comparison to their male coworkers.
