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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent

‘Still work to be done’: Iceland marks 50 years since Women’s Day Off protests

A demonstrator at a rally for equal rights in Reykjavík on 24 October 2023 carries a placard that reads: ‘What do I know? I’m just a woman’
A demonstrator at a rally for equal rights in Reykjavík on 24 October 2023 carries a placard that reads: ‘What do I know? I’m just a woman’ Photograph: Sigga Ella/The Guardian

Iceland is the only country to have closed the gender gap by more than 90%, according to the World Economic Forum, and, for the first time in its history, every national leadership position – including president, prime minister, bishop and police chief – is now held by a woman.

But as people go on strike on Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of “kvennafrí” (“Women’s Day Off”) strike, the protest that kickstarted a global equality revolution, the Icelandic president warned that her country was not immune to gender-related “red flags” and a global “backlash” against feminism.

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