175 Years in the making
Iceland ranks among global leaders in gender equality. The journey spans from equal inheritance rights in 1850 and suffrage in 1915 to the Women’s Strike in 1975 and the world’s first democratically elected woman president in 1980. Bold efforts and collective action by the women’s movement shaped Iceland’s path to equality. We celebrate the progress and keep moving forward on fair pay, shared care, safety, and equal voice.
Where are we now?
At the start of 2025, the 50th anniversary of the Women's Day Off and the UN International Women's Year, women held many of Iceland's top leadership roles. A new coalition government took office, led by three women who chaired their parties, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and Minister of Social Affairs and Housing Inga Sæland, with a cabinet of seven women and four men. Halla Tómasdóttir was newly elected president, the second woman to hold the office. A second woman, Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir, had recently become bishop. The National Commissioner of Police and the Director of Health were women, and soon after so were the Speaker of Parliament, the Mayor of Reykjavík, and the Rector of the University of Iceland.
For the past sixteen years, Iceland has topped the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index. Iceland first reached number one under Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir's government in 2009, when women's representation in parliament passed 40 percent for the first time and the cabinet reached gender parity. Jóhanna was Iceland's first woman prime minister and the world's first openly lesbian woman to hold that office.
The index measures four pillars: labor and the pay gap, political power, education, and access to health services. Iceland has effectively closed the gap in education and health and made substantial progress in the other two areas. Targeted public policies have been crucial, including fathers' parental leave, publicly supported childcare, equal pay laws, and, most recently, the implementation of equal pay certification in 2017.
Some commentary portrays Iceland’s path to equality as a swift, linear march, even crediting it to “Viking” virtues like courage and independence. The historical record is more mixed. At key moments, Iceland has followed rather than led its Nordic neighbors, and gaps remain.
Challenges today include a persistent gender pay gap, driven by a gender-segregated labor market and the undervaluation of female-dominated jobs. Immigrant women are most affected. The fight against gender-based violence continues, with certain groups at greater risk, including women with disabilities, trans women, and immigrant women. A care gap between parental leave and preschool still reduces many mothers' earnings and opportunities, as they more often cut back paid work to cover unpaid care at home.
As in the past, meaningful wins have come through sustained effort, solidarity, and grassroots action that gradually progress into policy and public life.
Gender Equality Iceland is a collaboration between
