Icelandic women, including prime minister, on strike for 24 hours over inequality

Tens of thousands of women Icelanders began a 24-hour strike on Tuesday over inequality of genderincluding the prime minister, who said the fight for equal treatment was moving too slowly at home and abroad.

Across the small island nation, schools and libraries closed or operated with limited hours as female staff stayed home, while hospitals said they would only handle emergency cases.

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, 47, joined the protest and said she would not go to work on Tuesday.

“If we look at the entire world, it could take 300 years to achieve gender equality”Jakobsdottir told public radio station Ras 1.

The strike was called to protest pay differences compared to men and gender violence, as well as to highlight unpaid work, such as childcare, which often falls to women, according to organizers.

Organized under the motto “You call this equality?” and comprised of Icelandic women and non-binary people, the protest is the first full-day strike since an inaugural women’s demonstration nearly half a century ago. In 1975, 90% of Icelandic women stopped working to protest gender inequality.

“We are celebrating… our ancestors, our models of equality”said Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, 58, an Icelandic lawmaker. “We need equality, we need justice, we need freedom, so this is a message from Iceland: we have to stay united”.

With a population of less than 400,000, Iceland is considered one of the most progressive countries in the world on gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index for 14 consecutive years.

But in some industries and professions, women earn at least 20% less than Icelandic men, according to Statistics Iceland.

“This day is for all the women of Iceland”said Sonja Rut Adalsteinsdottir, 41, who works at a company that makes equipment for the food industry.

“I am lucky to work in a company with equal pay, for both women and men, but I am here for my daughters and for all the women in this country“, he assured during a rally in the capital, Reykjavík.

Local media reported the attendance of between 70,000 and 100,000 people.

40% of Icelandic women suffer gender and sexual violence throughout their lives, according to a study by the University of Iceland.

“We want to draw attention to the fact that we are called a paradise of equality, but there are still gender disparities and it is urgent to act”said Freyja Steingrimsdottir, strike organizer and communications director for the Icelandic Federation of Public Workers.

“Professions led by women, such as health services and childcare, remain undervalued and much lower paid“Steingrimsdottir told Reuters on Monday.