The fight for gender equality

We think of strikes as being industrial disputes by workers. But what about strikes on the basis of gender? That’s what happened in Iceland in 1975 on International Women’s day, which we celebrate today.

On that day, 90% of women in Iceland went on strike. They refused to work, cook or look after children to show the indispensable value of women and fight for gender equality in wider society.

Fast forward 40 years and Iceland now leads the world on the gender equality index — and has done nine years in a row. I was there recently, at the invitation of their Prime Minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, who herself was born the year after that strike.

So what do we learn from this world-leading country and its leader? Katrin and indeed others I talked to in Iceland see the strike as the pivotal moment when things began to change.

But we can also learn something else — about how gender equality can transform societies in multiple positive ways — and not just through the essential rights they confer. Life is better for the whole of Icleandic society — men and women — as a result of what happened on that day in 1975.

Take their generous system of maternity and paternity leave — nine months paid at 80% of salary, with at least three months of it to be taken by the Dad. The father’s leave part of this is an essential part of gender equality because it avoids all the caring responsibilities being placed on the Mum. But, of course, it is also good for fathers who can spend time and bond with their new babies.

Imagine the transformation this represents, particularly when you compare it with our paltry two weeks paid paternity leave here in Britain. It is true that ‘shared parental leave’ was introduced here in 2015, but it is a pale imitation. Because it is paid at a minimum rate of about £145 a week, it tends to be uneconomic for the higher earner, often the man. Also, because it is a not a ‘use it or lose it’ system for Dads, other traditional stereotypes lead it to be taken overwhelmingly by the mother.

Iceland being Iceland they are not stopping where they are either. They want to reach 12 months leave with six months each for father and mother. Couple this with their universal childcare system and you can see why they are world leading. This is an essential reason why Iceland has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the world. It’s also one of the most proven routes towards more equal opportunity and reducing inequality of income.

In case you feel like becoming Icelandic, they also have quotas for Boards on large companies — -they must be 40 percent women. And they are also now experimenting with shorter working weeks in parts of the capital, Reykjavik. It was fascinating to hear from the boss of a technology company how the six hour day he had instituted could lead to a more successful business and a better life for his employees.

So the example of Iceland inspires me to think that by driving towards gender equality we can do the right thing and make our society better for everyone. A more gender equal country is a better country.

So what should we be doing here? Iceland feels like a pretty good standard to be driving towards. Proper leave paid leave for women and men. Universal childcare. Shorter working.

We also need to learn from what still needs doing there and here. They are open about the problems they still face with violence against women and everyday sexism. We know how far we have to go on these issues here.

What we also need to learn is how things change. ’Nothing about us without us’ is a slogan of the disability movement but it applies equally to gender. All the major advances that we have seen in this country –from family allowance (now child benefit) to childcare to action against human trafficking have seen women take the lead.

My colleague Rachel Reeves MP has just published a book, Women of Westminster, which charts that progress telling the story of women’s struggles and successes in Parliament. When Harriet Harman MP, my first boss, became an MP in 1982, 3% of MPs were women. Today it is about a third, with 45% of Labour MPs women.

The biggest lesson of that book is that we need to keep driving towards proper equality — -equal representation for women and men in Parliament and Cabinet. And we should remember that the fight for gender equality is right in itself and part of the wider struggle for a better, more equal society.