Ávarp Katrínar Jakobsdóttur forsætisráðherra á málþingi Alþjóða jafnlaunabandalagsins 17. september 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on the labour market all over the world. According to the International Labour Organisation the pandemic has had a greater impact on women and the prediction is that the recovery from COVID-19 will be slower for women than men.

With this in mind, we must do all we can to keep on working hard for gender equality and our goal should be an absolute elimination of the gender pay gap. With this hugely important task before us, stakeholders must work closely together. By joining the EPIC, we, the Icelandic government, are demonstrating our commitment to crushing the gender pay gap and to share knowledge and best practices with other members.

A new study on equal pay in Iceland shows that the gender pay gap is mainly due to a gender segregated labour market.

The pandemic has highlighted the value and importance of women dominated fields. In most places it is mostly women who take care of the sick, the elderly and small children. Due to the nature of the work, caretaking jobs cannot be done remotely and they cannot be put on hold until the pandemic is over.

We know that women dominated fields in the labour market have long been undervalued. And that historically many of these jobs were done by women inside the homes and without salary.

The abilities and skills these tasks demand have been greatly underestimated. And on our road to recovery from COVID- 19, it is in my mind hugely important for us to re-examine how we as societies value these immensely important jobs.

My government has taken the step of establishing a task force that will come up with actions to change this gender segregated labour market and the undervaluation of women dominated jobs. 

Equal pay is so much more than just the pay check. Equal pay and economic independence are the foundation for gender equality, which has broad implications, including increased safety for women and girls from genderbased violence. 

When it comes to the challenge of equal pay we must see cooperation between a diverse range of stakeholders. The Icelandic government is happy to have been an active member of EPIC from its founding and a member of the EPIC steering committee.

In Iceland we´d like to see equal and inclusive world of work where all genders receive equal pay for work of equal value. With our efforts to close the gender pay gap we have made some substantial gains and we are always willing to share our experience.