Iceland first country to mandate gender pay equity

Iceland first country to mandate gender pay equity
19 Jan 2018

Employers now need to obtain government certificate to prove they are not unfairly disadvantaging women financially.

Iceland has become the first country in the world to mandate that companies demonstrate they are not paying women less than men.

Under new legislation, companies and government agencies with more than 25 employees will need to obtain government certification for their equal-pay policies, with those that fail to do so facing fines, according to HR Grapevine.

The World Economic Forum Iceland has ranked Iceland as the world’s best country for gender equality over the last nine years. But it still faces gender-based problems: during the country’s prolonged economic crisis following the 2008 financial crash, male uptake of paternity leave declined. 

Employers now need to obtain government certificate to prove they are not unfairly disadvantaging women financially.

Iceland has become the first country in the world to mandate that companies demonstrate they are not paying women less than men.

Under new legislation, companies and government agencies with more than 25 employees will need to obtain government certification for their equal-pay policies, with those that fail to do so facing fines, according to HR Grapevine.

The World Economic Forum Iceland has ranked Iceland as the world’s best country for gender equality over the last nine years. But it still faces gender-based problems: during the country’s prolonged economic crisis following the 2008 financial crash, male uptake of paternity leave declined. 

Leave a Reply

All blog comments are checked prior to publishing