Iceland “Is this what you call equality?”?”: Historic women's strike

On Tuesday 24 October, Icelandic women and gender non-binary people held a strike under the slogan “Is this what you call equality?”?”. It was called by dozens of organizations, including the main unions. They called on women and non-binary gender people to leave work and not carry out any domestic activities. mobilization, The strike and unity with the workers show the way forward. Patriarchy and capitalism fall together.

An unprecedented impact

The strike was strongly felt in public services. In schools and hospitals, except emergencies. In libraries and in transport that operated with a reduced scheme. In the RÚV public radio and television networks that interrupted their broadcasts. On the airline IcelandAir, which canceled several flights since more than half of the staff is made up of female workers who joined the strike. For the whole day, there was a call for men to carry out the unpaid work that often falls to women.

There was also a massive mobilization

In the afternoon in the capital, Reykjavík, There was a massive rally in which they demonstrated 100 a thousand people. The movement was so powerful that the prime minister, the ecosocialist Katrín Jakobsdóttir and other government authorities showed solidarity with the day, suspending meetings and other scheduled activities.

It was a historical fact

Beyond the fact that it happened in a small European island country, it has enormous significance. First, because it was not symbolic, something that would have also been worth highlighting. It lasted a full day and was effective.. further, because it was made in one of the countries with the highest level and life expectancy in the world. Which proves that the crisis of capitalism and its consequences extend throughout the planet and that there is a deep sea in feminism..

Laws that are wet paper

Claiming the strike is a necessity 2018, Iceland became the first country to require companies to prove that they pay their employees fairly for performing the same functions. Nevertheless, Unions denounce that companies do not comply with the legislation, demonstrating, once again, that the maintenance of this patriarchal capitalist system is based on the reproduction of divisions among the oppressed.

In this sense Tatjana Latinovic, President of the Icelandic Women's Rights Association has been forceful in her statements “a paradise of equality should not have a wage gap of 21% and a 40% of women who suffer sexual or gender violence throughout their lives. “That is not what women around the world are fighting for.”.

For immigrant women, worse

Another aspect to take into account to understand salary inequality is that what are considered female jobs (cleaners, elderly caregivers, daycare workers) now they are occupied by foreign women, because it is difficult to find people who work with the low salaries they offer. Currently, immigrant women represent the 22% of the Icelandic female labor market, but, according to the unions, Their contribution to society is not reflected in the salaries these women receive.. In these cases, exploitation is added to two-sided oppression., per woman and per immigrant.

Unacceptable devaluation

The devaluation of the working class takes on a special dimension with working women. And this has no borders. En palabras de Freyja Steingrímsdóttir, strike organizer and communications director of the Icelandic Federation of Public Workers, «Professions led by women, such as health services and child care, "They continue to be undervalued and much worse paid".

in capitalism, even the most progressive is formal

Iceland is considered one of the most advanced countries in terms of gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forum's smallest gender gap index for 14 consecutive years. But in some industries and professions, women earn at least a 20% less than Icelandic men. further, he 40% of women suffer gender and sexual violence throughout their lives, according to a study by the University of Iceland. the consent for the strike must be granted by half of the labor collective and only economic demands can be presentedWe want to draw attention to the fact that we are called a paradise of equality, But there remain gender disparities and an urgent need for action., declared Steingrímsdóttir.

Let us assert our claims

Women make up more than half of the world's population , as part of the working class, We are also the ones who move the world. But we must stop being exploited as the cheapest labor force to sustain this unequal system..

According to statistics, about 2.400 millions of women of working age do not have equal economic opportunities, Y 178 countries continue to have legal barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the economy. While, in 86 countries, Women face some type of work restriction, a total of 95 Countries do not guarantee equal pay for work of equal value.

An example to imitate

When the UN declared in 1975 as “Year of the Woman”, Icelandic women were a vanguard in carrying out a strike to make their role in society visible, especially unpaid domestic work and the demand for greater political representation. Almost 50 years later, They once again give an example of struggle that we have to imitate throughout the world until capitalism and patriarchy fall together.