The best place to be a woman?

In the battle for gender equality Iceland is leading the world. The tiny island is pioneering news ways to close the gender pay gap, root out stereotypes and get more mothers back to work. Film supported by Mishcon de Reya

Supported by Mishcon de Reya

Today women around the globe have less access to power wealth and education than men - but one tiny island is leading the world in bridging these gaps. Iceland is pioneering ways to get more mothers back to work, to root out gender stereotypes, and to close the pay gap.

Could Iceland inspire the world to solve one of its greatest problems?

Iceland has topped gender equality rankings for nearly a decade. One of the secrets to their success? Start early. This kindergarten in the capital Reykjavik focuses on challenging extreme gender stereotypes before they take root in boys and girls. It's a mission that's led to the creation of 17 schools across this tiny country - all focused on developing a healthy balance of characteristics in both sexes. Girls and boys are separated to allow girls to nurture traits traditionally viewed as masculine, like being bold, independent, and taking risks. And boys are given time to learn traits traditionally viewed as feminine, like being more group oriented, empathetic, and caring - and the signs are that this is working. Research suggests that in later years children from this school have a greater understanding of gender equality when compared to children from other schools.

Iceland is also promoting gender equality by encouraging fathers to share the childcare burden with mothers. In 2000, it introduced what is known as a daddy quota - three month statutory paternity leave. It's an allowance that goes much further than most other countries in the world. Here over 70% of fathers take up the full three months leave. Why? Because the state covers 80% of a salary during this period up to a cap of $4,600 a month. One beneficiary of this generous system is Egill Bjarnson who is looking after his son Valer. Egill believes the high cost of the daddy quota to taxpayers is justified because it helps get more women into work.

But even in Iceland men are still paid nearly 6% more than women for similar work. This year Iceland became the first country in the world to pass legislation not just to expose but to tackle the gender pay gap. Companies with over 25 employees like Reykjavik Energy now have to prove they are paying men and women equally for similar jobs. Every job at the company must be measured against a set of criteria - this produces a score. For jobs with the same score workers must be paid the same. When Reykjavik Energy used this pay calculator the inequalities came into sharp and immediate focus.

The company rectified this by raising the wages of its female employees. Critics of the law point out there will be significant financial consequences for companies as they rectify their pay inequalities - but many argue this is a necessary price to pay. Gender equality will be an ever more pressing challenge for wealthy countries across the world. Could the ambitious measures being tested in Iceland provide practical solutions?

What are the forces shaping how people live and work and how power is wielded in the modern age? NOW AND NEXT reveals the pressures, the plans and the likely tipping points for enduring global change. Understand what is really transforming the world today – and discover what may lie in store tomorrow.

[crewmatewillthrowthesehand]

People insulting iceland as mediocre when iceland is one of the most peaceful and richest countries in the world.... They are doing something right, thank you, go fix your own countries if you dont like it

[kimwarburton]

that dad is correct. nearly every job interview ive had since i was 22 asked me if i intended to have a child in next 5 years. The 'norms' we're blind to -.-

[biancat]

Dear angry men in the comments. Wouldn't you want PAID leave to spend time with your amazing babies? Wouldn't you want your partner in life to be able to make more money and contribute more to the house hold? Where is the downside?

[mixqzju]

I genuinely don't understand why this topic riles people up so much, particularly young men. Honestly, it makes me sad.

[aadrath]

So glad she emphasized on "it's not that there are a couple of evil men.."

[ufosrus]

Gee, those Icelandic babies are pretty chubby! Very healthy looking children. It's a great idea to allow dads to spend more time with their kids from infancy. I would think that it will help them bond even more with their children.

[lice]

The men out here truly saying that we should'nt be equal because "who will look after the child as it grows". Um? why it can't be the father?

[bellabroughton]

extraordinary how ideas like teaching kids to be both caring and assertive and giving men good paid paternity leave have somehow hurt so many people's feelings in these comments

[farkasabel]

Iceland has an app to check if the dating partner is not too close relative.

[damonblade]

I want to raise my children in this country. This is amazing.

[npriya]

As an Indian, am so proud of Iceland. It takes great minds to take such steps..

[brinawidmer]

not just for wealthy countries but for all countries: womens rights are humanrights - gender equality is important in the entire world.

[moode]

the way children being taught is rather interesting, the fact that fathers are encouraged to spend more time with their children during their infancy would help the child to learn an ideal equity and a balanced attention that a child must get from their parents

[eliasaceves]

I feel like the Iceland model is very pragmatic. The score system takes into account many variables that determine wages. If a women gets a lower score, she's paid less. Male gets a lower score, he's paid less. If they have equal scores, they are paid the same. This is very quantitative and logical. What objections are there to this except the fact that some people just don't wanna pay women more?

[Theartcat]

People (mainly men) are soooo triggered! It's actually funny to read/skim through this comment section, just embrace equality!

[gabrielasalazar]

If I were from a country like that I would want children.

[alastairhewitt]

What I love about the Scandinavian system is that they recognise that man have and are constrained by their gender as well and they work to counteract those constraints. In the US I feel like the view is that gender is something that women exclusively experience. Women in our society, while lacking hard power, hold an incredible amount of soft power and framing gender as something that only belongs to one group of people creates division and sets egalitarian progress backwards, especially when the group with soft power is seeking hard power as well.

[jeanclaudejunior]

The world needs to learn from Iceland about Gender Equality and its policies

[creamybear]

smh so many commenters who don't understand even remotely what they're arguing about. YES, "equal pay for equal work" includes the actual work conditions, like working outdoors/doing hard labor/working under difficult weather conditions. we're talking about women working the exact SAME jobs as men, doing the same work, but still being paid less.

[MK-kolz]

What a great movement! I hope this movement and education are being adopted in other countries as well. Because women and men are equal, both are human!