1975 Icelandic women's strike

General strike to achieve equal pay protection Women's strike (disambiguation) October 2018 1975 Icelandic women's strike Women's Day Off 24 October 1975 Iceland Gender pay gap, occupational sexism To "demonstrate the indispensable work of women for Iceland's economy and society" and "protest wage discrepancy and unfair employment practices". Women's strike On 24 October 1975, Icelandic women went on strike for the day to "demonstrate the indispensable work of women for Iceland's economy and society"http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/icelandic-women-strike-economic-and-social-equality-1975 Icelandic women strike for economic and social equality, 1975 Global Nonviolent Action Database Swarthmore College Global Nonviolent Action Database 23 April 2016 and to "protest wage discrepancy and unfair employment practices".https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/18/gender.uk The day the women went on strike 18 October 2005 The Guardian en-GB 0261-3077 23 April 2016 It was publicized domestically as Women's Day Off (is Kvennafrídagurinn). Participants, led by women's organizations, did not go to their paid jobs and did not do any housework or child-rearing for the whole day. 90% of Iceland's female population participated in the strike. Iceland's parliament passed a law guaranteeing equal rights to women and men the following year. History Icelandic women who worked outside of the home before 1975 earned less than sixty percent of what men earned. The United Nations announced that 1975 was going to be International Women's Year. A representative from a women's group called the Redstockings (Iceland) Redstockings is Rauðsokkahreyfingin put forward the idea of a strike as one of the events in honor of it. The committee decided to call the strike a "day off" since they thought this term would be more pleasant and more effective in engaging the masses. Also, some women could have been fired for going on strike but could not be denied a day off. Women's organizations spread the word about the Day Off throughout the country. The Day Off event organizers got radio stations, television, and newspapers to run stories about gender-based discrimination and lower wages for women. The event garnered international attention.https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34602822 The day Iceland's women went on strike - BBC News BBC News Brewer Kirstie en-GB 23 October 2015 23 April 2016 Women's Day Off On 24 October 1975, Icelandic women did not go to their paid jobs or do any housework or child-rearing at home. Ninety percent of women took part, including women in rural communities. Fish factories were closed since many of the factory workers were women.http://kvennasogusafn.is/index.php?page=Women-s-Day-Off-1975 The Day the children came to the offices Else Mia Einarsdottir Gerdur Steinhtorsdottir Scandinavian Review 1977 3 60–64 23 April 2016 9 March 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180309203321/http://kvennasogusafn.is/index.php?page=Women-s-Day-Off-1975 dead During the Day Off, 25,000 out of a population of 220,000 people in Iceland gathered in the centre of Reykjavik, Iceland's capital, for a rally. At the rally, women listened to speakers, sang, and talked to each other about what could be done to achieve gender equality in Iceland. There were many speakers, including a housewife, two parliament members, a women's movement representative, and a female worker. The last speech of the day was by Aðalheiður Bjarnfreðsdóttir, who "represented Sókn, the trade union for the lowest-paid women in Iceland". Employers prepared for the day without women by buying sweets, pencils, and paper to entertain the children brought into work by their fathers. As a result, sausages, a popular meal, sold out in many stores that day. Aftermath The Day Off had a lasting impact and became known colloquially as "the long Friday". Iceland's parliament passed a law guaranteeing equal rights the following year. The strike also paved the way for the election of Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the first democratically elected female president in the world five years later in 1980.https://vigdis.is/en/presidential-campaign-and-election-3/ Presidential campaign and election Jónasdóttir Valgerður Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Forsdeti Íslands 1980–1996 en-GB live https://web.archive.org/web/20210128094315/https://vigdis.is/en/presidential-campaign-and-election-3/ 28 January 2021 29 January 2020 Every ten years, on the anniversary of the Day Off, women stop work early. In 1975, the women strikers left work at 2:05 p.m., and in 2005 they left at 2:08 p.m., intended to symbolically reflect “the amount of progress made in 30 years”. Increasing the frequency of strikes, in 2010, they left work at 2:25 p.m. and in 2016 at 2:38 p.m., with many women taking part in the Viking Clap outside the Althing.http://observers.france24.com/en/20161025-iceland-women-protest-wage-gap Icelandic women cut working day to protest wage gap France24 25 October 2016 Legacy The 2016 Black Monday in Poland was modelled on the 1975 Icelandic strike.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37540139 Black Monday: Polish women strike against abortion ban 3 October 2016 BBC News en-GB 13 December 2016 The International Women's Strike, a global version inspired by the Icelandic strike, spread in 2017 and 2018.0261-3077 James Selma Decades after Iceland's 'day off', our women's strike is stronger than ever Selma James The Guardian 3 September 2018 8 March 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/08/iceland-global-womens-strike-protestJudith Vonberg Laura Perez Maestro 'If women stop, the world stops:'Women down tools for 'feminist strike' CNN 8 March 2018 3 September 2018 https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/08/europe/global-womens-strike-international-womens-day-intl/index.html See also Women in Iceland References 30em External links Associated Press video of the strike Feminism Society Iceland Women's strike Icelandic women's strike Icelandic women's strike Category:Feminism in Iceland Category:Feminist protests Category:General strikes in Europe Category:History of women in Iceland Icelandic women's strike Category:Protests in Iceland Category:Women's strikes Category:Women's rights in Iceland Category:Labor disputes in Iceland Category:Strikes in Europe