Opening remarks by Ambassador of Iceland, Unnur Orradóttir Ramette

Equal Pay Day 17 September 2021

OECD

Good morning and welcome everyone to this event on Equal Pay which is hosted jointly by Iceland and the OECD.

My name is Unnur Orradóttir Ramette and I am the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Iceland to OECD.

Gender equality has been a high priority for the Icelandic government. The Icelandic Equal Pay legislation, that finds its origin in the work of the previous government and was introduced In January 2018, puts burden of prove on employers and places a duty on them to ensure that wage-setting does not discriminate against gender. They need to seek certification, by external auditors, in accordance with the requirements of an Equal Pay Standard.

The Law requires all governmental agencies and public and private companies with 25 employees and more, to have their salary system certified every three years with penalties for non-compliance. This represents approximately 80% of the Icelandic workforce.

Other initiatives of this sort are being put to the test or are being discussed. OECD is well placed to build capacity for evidence-informed policy making in this area. It has demonstrated that despite major improvements in the education of young girls, the rising labour force participation of women and widespread laws against gender discrimination, women’s position in the labour market severely lags behind that of men, and the gender gap in labour income remains a global phenomenon.

But equal pay is so much more than just the pay-check. Equal pay and economic independence are the foundation for gender equality, which has broad implications, including increased safety for women and girls from gender-based violence, economic growth and resilience.

The gender pay gap is a global consequence of various inequalities women face in access to work and career progression.

These are the reasons why a group of seven Equal Pay International Coalition member countries (EPIC), led by Iceland[1], joined their forces in presenting a resolution at the United Nations, establishing September 18 as International Equal Pay Day to be observed each year. The resolution was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2019. This resolution followed another resolution on Equal Pay, adopted by the Human Rights Council aimed at tackling the root causes and other factors influencing equal pay, as well as the gender pay gap, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, calling for equal pay for work of equal value by 2030.

Now, where do we stand today and what can we possibly gain in socio-economic terms?

How come that in countries like Iceland, which regularly ranks number one in terms of gender equality and where equal pay for work of equal value has been legally binding for 60 years, equal pay is still an issue?

Today, we want to explore different public policy options and private sector initiatives based on evidence and best practices, that go beyond legal obligations that are not necessarily applied or enforced. We will also try to understand the root causes or the biases that lead to gender pay gaps.

Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir has kindly accepted to be our moderator today. She recently took up the position of Director of OECD Development Centre and in addition to her recent posting as Executive Director in the private sector, she is a former Iceland’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, a Member of Parliament and Chair of the Icelandic delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Without further ado, I kindly ask our Moderator to take the floor.

Closing remarks

Firstly, I would like to thank today’s panelists for your excellent discussions and all the participants online for your questions. We have reflected on the progress made so far, as well as the challenges we still face in terms of the gender pay gap, through the experiences of a variety of different actors. The discussions have demonstrated how public policy tools can play a key role in ensuring equal pay for work of equal value and made evident the important contributions and impact of new innovative technologies.

We hope that the event has highlighted the value of international cooperation between governments and the private sector to close the gender pay gap. It is also our wish that this Equal Pay Day event will be an annual one here at the OECD, as we believe that it serves as an important platform to discuss the critical issue of equal pay, while continuing to encourage states to commit to providing impactful policies and recommendations. I wish to use this opportunity to thank all the dedicated staff of the OECD for assisting us at the Icelandic Delegation with organizing this event today.

Lastly, I would like to remind you of the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) event taking place at 3 today, Central European Time, celebrating the International Equal Pay Day 2021. The event focuses on the efforts to ensure that equal pay remains central to pandemic responses and to recognize the contributions of women to COVID-19 recovery and will be attended by SG Mathias Cormann and Prime Minster of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir and other distinguished personalities. Thank you. 

[1] Australia, Canada, Germany, Panama, New Zealand, South-Africa, and Switzerland