What if, from now on, it was no longer for women to prove that they earn less money because of their gender, but for companies to justify upstream that the pay gaps in their workforce are not linked to gender? Since 2018, Iceland has applied this “reversal of the burden of proof”, and it’s a small revolution. The Nordic country will detail how it works – among other topics – during the second edition of International Equal Pay Day, held on September 17.
Still little known, this event was created at the initiative of Reykjavik in 2019, under the aegis of the International Coalition for Equal Pay. Founded in 2018, it brings together the International Labor Organization, the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and around 40 other members, including several countries, unions and companies. Its objective: to deepen concrete measures to reduce the gender pay gap by 2030, on all continents.
This year, during a series of interventions broadcast online, the focus will be on the efforts to be made after the Covid-19 pandemic. Because it widened a little more these wage gaps, estimated at 20% on average in the world in 2019. In particular in the most fragile countries, in particular in South America and Africa. “Many States have adopted laws in favor of equal pay for several years now, but even in industrialized economies, this is not enough to change practices”, underlines Unnur Orradottir Ramette, Ambassador of Iceland in Paris and Permanent Delegate to the OECD.
“We still have a lot to do”
In France, such a law dates from 1972, but it was not until 2018 that binding measures were imposed on companies: those with more than 50 employees must now publish on their site an “index of professional equality”, on 100 points, which they must themselves calculate from five indicators, such as the gender pay gap or the number of employees increased upon their return from maternity leave.
In Iceland, a pioneer on the subject, the first law dates from 1961. On October 14, 1975, 90% of Icelandic women cease all activity at work and at home, to defend their rights. This landmark day in the country’s history launched a long march towards equality.
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