On this day in 1975, Icelandic women took a stand against the injustice of being paid less for their work than men. Women not only left their jobs, showing the country how important their contribution was to society, they also took the day off from housework and childcare for the afternoon, leaving the men in charge.
The women of Reykjavík marched to Austurvöllur by the tens of thousands, resulting in the largest political protest Iceland had ever seen, and leaving women with the hopeful feeling that things were about to change.
While some things have changed since the seventies, others haven’t and women are still not paid as much as men, even in Iceland, a country famous for valuing gender-equality. This is why, today, women are once again leaving their work in protest and marching to Austurvöllur. At 2.38 pm, women in Iceland would already have earned their current salaries if they were paid the same as men, so at 2.38 pm, women all over the country will leave their posts at work or in the home.
Hopefully, we won’t have to do this again.
