In 1975, 90% of women in Iceland went on strike from their paid and unpaid work. Iceland is now arguably the most gender equal country in the world and has been ranked as the best in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum for 14 years in a row. However, this year their female Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, is striking again because she says they still have a ways to go.
According to Forbes, these are the top 10 countries for women to work in - more on why from InterNations. So I guess one option would be to move to one of these countries and join their workforce, but that won't help the billions of women working outside those countries.
Czech Republic
Bahrain
Taiwan
Norway
Denmark
Luxembourg
New Zealand
The Netherlands
Malta
Australia
According to the UN, it will take 257 years for the gender pay gap to close in countries like the US and the UK. I don't have that kind of time. I am 20 years into my career with another 20+ to go. I want to make the most of those years. I am ready to start demanding I get what I have earned. And if the traditional workforce won't allow for that, perhaps it is time to start down a different path.
What about a silent protest of women refusing to work in and among the patriarchy? What if we decided to do things our way? What about a whole community of female founders supporting each other to achieve new heights and create work environments meant for women and how we work best? More on that in a future post! Until then, I salute the PM of Iceland and all those committed to carving a path for women.