There hasn’t been anything like this for half a century. Women didn’t go to work, they didn’t do anything at home. The country’s prime minister also

The strike began on Tuesday morning and lasted all day. Tens of thousands of Icelandic women took part, including the country’s prime minister, Katrin Jakobsdóttir. On that day, women living in Iceland were ordered not to perform their official duties, but also to stop providing unpaid work – including, among others, housework. Non-binary people also joined the strike. However, it did not end with boycotting everyday activities – thousands of people took to the streets with banners, demanding justice.

I will not work today and I expect all women (in the government – ed.) to do the same

– announced the Prime Minister of Iceland via the mbl.is website. In the statement, she also indicated that the team appointed by her government is examining how professions dominated by women are assessed compared to those that are statistically more often performed by men.

First of all, this is my way of showing solidarity with Icelandic women

– said the Prime Minister, quoted by “The Guardian”.

The nationwide strike, which blocked several important sectors of public life in Iceland, was an expression of opposition and the fight against inequality. Women and non-binary people have united to draw attention to the problem of gender pay inequality. Gender-based and sexual violence were also protested.

Icelandic women did not go to work. They demand equal pay

Thousands of teachers, nurses, health and social care workers, carers, housewives, etc., but also women working in the fishing sector – extremely important for the Icelandic economy – took part in the strike. “Kvennafri” – as the day of the strike was called – particularly blocked the functioning of educational and medical facilities.

It should be emphasized that this year’s Kvennafri is the first such event in nearly half a century. Exactly 48 years ago (October 24, 1975), almost 90 percent of Icelandic women began a mass strike. In this way, they wanted to draw attention to the importance of women’s work for the Icelandic economy and their contribution to its development – both in the context of paid and unpaid work, while pointing out that they are still worse paid than men.

Back then, both women employed in administration, enterprises, offices, educational institutions, etc., as well as those working unpaid at home – e.g. housewives taking care of their loved ones, etc. – did not come to work.

The first such strike in half a century. The Icelandic women united and won

The strike in 1975 shocked the entire country. Like it or not, many men also had to stay at home and take care of the children. At that time, a symbol from local grocery stores and supermarkets was permanently etched in the minds of Icelanders – there were no sausages or other easy-to-prepare food products on the shelves. Their fathers bought them out.

The symbolic shortage of these products was just one of the many repercussions of the strike. Thanks to the unity and solidarity of Icelandic women, the protest triggered a huge social discussion about the professional position of women. He also began a long-term process of gradual equalization of wages in many sectors. Five years later, a woman became Prime Minister of Iceland for the first time in the country’s history.

Sources: TVN24/Euractiv/BBc/The Guardian/CNN/Rp.pl