Tens of thousands of Icelandic women, including the prime minister, are expected to strike from paid and unpaid jobs on Tuesday in a protest against gender inequality, according to labour unions.
Iceland is regarded as one of the worldโs most progressive countries in terms of gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forumโs gender gap index 14 years in a row.
But in some industries and professions, women earn at least 20% less than Icelandic men, according to Statistics Iceland.
Forty percent of Icelandic women experience gender-based and sexual violence in their lifetime, a University of Iceland study found.
โWeโre seeking to bring attention to the fact that weโre called an equality paradise, but there are still gender disparities and urgent need for action,โ said Freyja Steingrรญmsdรณttir, a strike organiser and the communications director for the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers.
Under the slogan โDo you call this equality?โ, Icelandic women and non-binary individuals will go on their first full-day strike in 48 years. In 1975, 90% of Icelandic women stopped work to protest gender inequality.
โFemale-led professions such healthcare services and childcare are still undervalued and much lower paid,โ Steingrรญmsdรณttir told Reuters.
