Iceland’s Equal Pay Certificate Bill Draws International Attention
The socio-economic situation of the Nordic regions improved in the period, however, income inequality has increased, except for Iceland. (Photo: Andreas Tille/Wikimedia Commons)
Iceland will become the first country in the world to require companies to prove they pay all employees the same, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and nationality.
Iceland will become the first country in the world to require companies to prove they pay all employees the same, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and nationality.
Last week, on the International Women’s day the country’s government announced that it would introduce a bill in parliament this month that will obligate every company with 25 or more employees to obtain a certificate proving they provide equal pay for work of equal value.
While equal-salary certificate policies exist in other countries, Iceland is believed to be the first country planning to make it mandatory for both public and private companies.
According to Iceland Review the plan is to eradicate the gender pay gap by 2022. Minister of Social Affairs and Equality Þorsteinn Víglundsson said, "the time is right to do something radical about this issue."
The story, originally from the Associated Press, has been covered by numerous foreign media,
Last year thousands of Icelandic woman all over Iceland walked out of their workplaces at 2:38 pm on October 24 to protest the gender gap. Compared to men’s earnings, the organizers of the event estimated that women work without pay after that hour every day.