A very progressive step.
Iceland is set to become the first country in the world to require public and private businesses to provide equal pay for male and female employees.
According to The Guardian, a bill has been presented by the Icelandic parliament that will require companies and institutions of 25 or more employees to undertake a certification of their equal pay programmes. It is due to come into effect in January of next year.
Public and private businesses will be required by law to undergo audits and receive certification that male and female employees are receiving equal pay; those who fail to do so will face fines.
The bill has received wide support in the Icelandic parliament and comes after Iceland ranked in first place on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index in 2015. Ireland, by comparison, ranked in fifth place.
Commenting on the bill, Thorsteinn Viglundsson, minister of social affairs and equality in Iceland, said: “The gender pay gap is unfortunately a fact in the Icelandic labour market and it’s time take radical measures; we have the knowledge and the processes to eliminate it.
“In regard to annual financial statements, there are fines if documents are not delivered, and I can see the same apply if an equal-pay certification has not been implemented, since it will be an obligation.”
