Proposal for Parliamentary Resolution

on a Gender Equality Action Programme for the period of 2020–2023

By the Prime Minister.
Althingi resolves, in keeping with Article 11 of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Womenand Men No.10/2008 to adopt the following governmental Action Programme for Gender Equality
for the years 2020–2023:

A. THE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
1. The Icelandic Gender Equality Fund
A summary is to be made of all projects that have received grants from the Icelandic
Gender Equality Fund which was founded in 2015 through parliamentary resolution No.
13/144 in celebration of the centenary of the granting of suffrage to women in Iceland andamended by parliamentary resolution no. 19/149 of 2019. The primary role of the Fund is tofinance or support projects and research designed to increase gender equality in Icelandic
society and internationally. The Fund has been allocated ISK 100 million annually for a termof five years from 2016–2020. The summary shall be made with regard to the objectives of
the Fund and shall include an assessment of whether and how they have been fulfilled.
Time-frame: 2021–2022.
Cost estimate: ISK 1 million.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Upholds goal 5 and promotes its
integration with the other sustainable development goals.
2. The Gender Equality Implementation Fund
A total of ISK 40 million of the state budget shall be allocated to government ministries’
gender equality projects during the period of 2020–2023. The projects can be cooperative
projects between ministries within the Government Offices of Iceland or between ministries
and government institutions or the academic community, having the objective of using
outcomes, experience and knowledge in the field of gender equality or to introduce proposals
that can be regarded as the results of projects within the government’s Action Programme.
The Prime Minister´s Office shall call for applications from the ministries and allocate grants
following an expert assessment by the Department of Equality. Revised rules for the Fund andan application form shall be presented to the ministries by the end of 2019.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 40 million.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Upholds goal 5 and promotes its
integration with the other sustainable development goals.

3. Gender equality officers of the ministries
The ministries’ gender equality officers operate under the provisions of Article 13 of the Act on
Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men No.10/2008. The role of the gender equality

officers is to address and monitor gender equality activities within the areas of competence ofthe ministries in question and their subordinate bodies, including involvement in gendermainstreaming within each ministry’s field of competence. The gender equality officers shallacquire a knowledge of gender equality issues and shall operate according to approved
procedural and educational programmes. The work of gender equality officers shall include
the following:a. Following up on the projects defined in the government’s Action Programme for
Gender Equality and submitting progress reports to the Centre for Gender Equality.
b. Participating in and giving guidance in the making of gender equality assessments ofgovernment bills.
c. Participating in shaping and introducing a comprehensive schedule for gendermainstreaming in the policy-making and decision-taking of the ministries and government
bodies.
d. Revising the working procedures and educational programmes for the genderequality officers.
e. Revising the working plans for the gender equality officers, which shall be readywithin one year of the entry into force of the Action Programme. The working plan shall alignall the projects allocated to the gender equality officers.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 1 million to educate gender equality officers.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.c, 10.3 and
16.6.
4. The Government Offices’ Gender Equality Programme
The Government Offices’ Gender Equality Programme for 2017–2020, which was drawn up inaccordance with Article 18(2) of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men,
No.10/2008, shall be reviewed during the term of validity of the government’s Action Programme for
Gender Equality. The ministries’ gender equality officers shall be in charge of the review andof following up on the Gender Equality Programmes on behalf of the ministries’ Permanent
Secretaries and in collaboration with the Centre for Gender Equality.
Time-frame: To be finished in the spring of 2020.
Cost estimate: Within the funding allocation for each ministry.
Responsibility: Gender equality officers of the ministries and the Prime Minister´s Office.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: The project mainly upholds goals 5.1,
5.c, 5.2, 5.5, 8.5, 8.8, 10.3, 10.4 and 16.6.
5. Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming has been a long-running project within the Government Offices,
including in connection with the government’s previous gender equality action programmes
and programmes for gender budgeting. During the term of validity of the Programme, anintegral four-year plan on gender mainstreaming in the policy-making and decision-taking of
the ministries and state institutions shall be drawn up and introduced. This plan shall take into
consideration the mainstreaming projects that have already been implemented by the ministries andgovernment institutions, especially projects regarding the assessment of the gender equality aspects of

government bills and projects in connection with the introduction of the Public Finance Act,
No.123/2015, including drawing up formats for policy-making and a plan to introduce genderbudgeting for the period of 2019–2023. The project is carried out in collaboration between thegender mainstreaming project management team and the ministries’ gender equality officers
as well as the project management team for gender budgeting. The Plan shall include thefollowing:a. Proposals for the introduction of gender mainstreaming into the activities and policymaking of ministries and government institutions, especially statutory plans and planning by
ministries and governmental institutions.
b. Proposals on how the results of gender equality assessments can be used in an
improved way during the drawing up of bills and in other policy-making.
c. Mapping and proposals on improving the collection and use of gender-specificinformation and data, as well as utilisation of research, to support policy direction anddecisions that take gender and gender equality perspectives into account.
d. Proposals for education and training.
e. Proposals for projects within the competence of each ministry, first as experimental
projects and then as an integral part of their regular activities and procedures.
f. Proposals for the follow-up of projects.
g. Proposals for periodic consultation and collaboration of all those who play a key rolein the field of gender mainstreaming.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 4 million to implement the projects and to pay the salary of an expert.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office in collaboration with the ministries’ genderequality officers and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 10.3, 10.4,
16.6, 16.7, 16.10, 16.b and promotes the integration of goal 5 with other sustainable
development goals.
6. Gender budgeting
Gender budgeting shall be carried out under a five-year implementation plan. An annual
gender equality assessment shall be carried out for areas of competence and policy areas in
the public sector and the main outcomes shall be published in a baseline report at the start ofeach year, which shall serve as a basis for decisions regarding objectives and emphases withinthese areas of competence and policy areas. These emphases shall be reflected in the five-year
fiscal plan and in each year’s budget bill. The project management team shall make proposals
on the follow-up of the implementation plan, including evaluation criteria for all theministries. The gender budgeting methodology shall be further utilised, on the basis of theexperience gained from using it, during discussions and decision-taking regarding state
expenditure and revenues. The gender budgeting project management team shall actively
consult and collaborate with the gender mainstreaming project management team, as well aswith the ministries’ gender equality officers, on the policy-making and decision-taking of theGovernment Offices and government institutions.
Time-frame: Ongoing project.
Cost estimate: Salary of a full-time expert.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the project management
team for gender budgeting.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.c and 10.4.

7. Gender equality and regional policies
A policy-making regional development plan for the period of 2018–2024 was drawn up andadopted according to Act No. 69/2015 on Regional Planning and Initiatives. The aim of the projectis to assess the impacts of gender equality measures in the regional development plan and inallocations to regional policies, and shall include the following:a. Reviewing the measures in the regional development policy with regard to genderand gender equality perspectives with the aim to evaluate the positions of women and men,
including examining whether there is a gender imbalance, discovering its nature and what thepossible impacts of the measures may have on gender equality.
b. Examining any allocations to regional development from a gender equality
perspective.
c. Analysing the results and developing methods in the form of counterweight or genderequality measures to address a possible gender imbalance in the regional development plan
and allocations with a view to upholding the perspectives of general equality and genderequality.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Up to ISK 3 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Transport and Local Government.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.a, 5.c, 8.5,
11.a, 16.6 and 16.7.
B. THE LABOUR MARKET – EQUAL PAY
8. Equal pay certification and equal pay standard
The introduction of equal pay certification in keeping with the government’s policy, as it appears in
the government’s coalition agreement and the Act on Equal Pay Certification, No.56/2017, shallcontinue so that all companies and institutions that generally employ more than 25 persons on anannual basis will have obtained certification of their equal pay systems before 2023. The

implementation and follow-up of the following projects shall continue during the term ofvalidity of the Action Programme:a. Education and promotion of the accredited certification of equal pay systems on thebasis of the ÍST 85:2012 standard, Equal wage management system - Requirements andguidance (the Equal Pay Standard) and the Act on Equal Pay Certification shall be carriedout. The development of rules and regulations regarding equal pay certification resulting fromthe introduction of the Equal Pay Standard shall continue within the Government Offices’steering group for certification and accreditation matters, which is composed ofrepresentatives of the Prime Minister´s Office, the Ministry of Industries and Innovation, theMinistry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Centre for Gender Equality, as well as thereview of the criteria for the certification service providers and monitoring of the equal pay
certification process.
b. The Centre for Gender Equality shall gather information on the certification of theequal pay systems of companies and institutions and publish it on the Centre’s website and in
the minister’s report on the situation and development of gender equality.
c. Software shall be developed for job classification and pay analyses to make it easierfor companies and institutions to introduce equal pay systems.
d. Updating of the Equal Pay Standard shall continue.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office and the Centre for Gender Equality incollaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Ministry ofIndustries and Innovation.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 8.5, 8.8, 16.5,
16.10 and 16.b.
9. Gender equality in the labour market
One of the main objectives of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men,
No.10/2008, is gender equality in the labour market. Over the term of validity of the Programme,

the implementation and follow-up to projects that are, inter alia, based on the proposals of thegovernment and social partner organisations’ Action Group on Equal Pay that operated
between 2012 and 2018, shall be carried out:a. The prerequisites for the appointment of a government and social partnerorganisations’ coordination group on equal pay and gender equality in the labour market shallbe explored.
b. Research shall be carried out on the pay differences between men and women in the entire
labour market, as per the provisions on equal pay certification in Act No.56/2017 which state that theminister shall, every two years, make an assessment of the results of equal pay certification, in
collaboration between the government, social partner organisations and Statistics Iceland. In addition,a special examination shall be made of the effects of equal pay certification on thedevelopment of pay, employee benefits and job development opportunities of men andwomen, including with regard to the effects of having children on the financial situation ofparents.
c. The Centre for Gender Equality shall, in collaboration with social partnerorganisations, follow up on the proposals of the Action Group on Equal Pay regarding
measures to reduce gender-based education and career choices.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Social
Affairs.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.a,
5.c, 8.5, 8.7, 8.8, 10.3 and 10.4.
10. Equality in company management positions
An evaluation shall be made of the implementation of the legal provisions on gender balance oncompanies’ boards that were added to the Act on Public Limited-liability Companies, No.2/1995, and
the Act on Private Limited-liability Companies, No.138/1994, as they were amended by a special
amendment act, No. 13/2010, that entered into force in 2013. The project includes:a. Examining whether the objectives of the new provisions have been reached.
b. Scrutinising the body of legislation and examining what the real benefits are withregard to the provisions of the Gender Equality Act on the equal influence of women and men
in society.
c.
Identifying ways to improve the situation, if necessary.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Up to ISK 3 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Industries and Innovation.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.5, 5.c, 10.2,
10.3 and 10.5.

11. Equality and parental leave
The right to parental leave shall be increased from nine months to twelve months in twostages in the 2020–2021 period. Each parent shall have the right to five months of parental
leave and additionally a right to two extra months that is not bound to either parent, that they
can arrange at will. The objective is, inter alia, to bridge the gap between the parents finishing
their full parental leave and the admittance of the child into preschool, thus ensuring that bothparents get an opportunity to care for their child without a major disruption of either parent’s
employment participation, as well as balancing work and family life.
Time-frame: 2020-2021.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Social Affairs.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 1.3, 5.1, 5.4, 5.5,
5.c, 8.1, 8.8 and 10.4.
12. The Women’s Loan Guarantee FundThe operation of the Women’s Loan Guarantee Fund – Svanni – shall be continued. The
objective of the Fund has been to support innovative women’s business projects by providing
guarantees for loans. This project was run on the basis of the previous Action Programme,with an agreement between the owners, in the period of 2015–2018. The agreement with theowners shall be revised during the term of the new Programme.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office and the Ministry of Industries and Innovationin collaboration with the city of Reykjavik.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.5, 5.a, 5.c,
8.1, 8.3, 8.5, 8.10 and 9.3.
C. GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE
13. Implementation of the Istanbul Convention
A policy-making national plan shall be made with regard to enforcing the Convention on
preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul
Convention) from 2011. The project is in conformity with Article 10 of the Convention,
which provides for the coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies
and measures made due to obligations under the Convention. The national plan shall also havethe objective to create an overview of the introduction of laws, regulatory actions and othermeasures, including data collection and research, as per Article 11 of the Convention. At thesame time, preparations shall be made for Iceland’s first hearing before the Convention’s
supervisory committee for the implementation of its obligations, which will take place in
2021. The national plan shall be drawn up in consultation with other ministries, government
institutions, local governments, non-governmental organisations and other concerned parties
and shall include the following measures:a. Searching for models in the national plans of other member countries of the Councilof Europe.
b. Forming a timed national plan with objectives, measures, progress indicators andresponsible parties.
c. Evaluating the local enforcement of the Convention’s provisions with regard tolegislations and other measures.

d. Preparing a status report on the implementation of the Convention.
e. Offering presentations and education about the Convention and the national plan via
the Government Offices’ website and in other fora.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office in collaboration with the steering group for
integral improvements with regard to sexual violence, and the ministries which haverepresentatives in the group.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6,
10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.6 and 16.10.
14. Equality within the police force
Efforts shall be made to increase the number of women on the police force and to ensurethat the police force’s work culture is conducive to equal opportunities for careeradvancement, continuous education and training for women and men, as well as opportunities
for both men and women to serve in management positions and positions of authority. The
objective is to balance the gender ratio, overall as well as within the different police ranks.
The project entails, inter alia, an analysis of the workplace culture, job advancement andlevels of withdrawal from the police force, by gender, using the following measures:
a. A follow-up investigation shall be made to discover whether the workplace culture
within the police force has changed since the measures taken following the 2013 investigationon the reasons why there are so few women police officers, on the workplace culture andgender relations within the police force.
b. Gender-specific data on hiring, appointments, job advancement, withdrawal rates andreasons for withdrawals shall be gathered and analysed, as focused and systematic collectionof gender-specific data is an important prerequisite for having reliable information on thestatus of men and women within the police force and to reach the objective of increasing
gender equality within the police force.
c. The police force’s hiring process shall be analysed in order to promote a better, moretransparent process.
d. The gender equality officers of the agencies and the gender equality officers on thegender equality committee shall be given leeway and time to fulfil their duties.
e. Proposals shall be made for improvements with regard to the outcomes of points a–dabove, in order to ensure that more women join the police force and to promote diversity, cf.
the previously mentioned objectives, as well as to improve the workplace culture within thepolice force and improve the hiring process.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the National Commissioner of
the Icelandic Police and the Icelandic police agencies.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.5, 5.c, 8.8,
10.3 and 16.6.
D. GENDER EQUALITY, EDUCATION AND CULTURE, SPORTS AND YOUTHACTIVITIES
15. Gender equality in education
15.1. Men and teaching
Efforts shall be made to increase the number of new students in basic teacher training,especially men, and thus speed up recruitment within the teaching profession. The project
entails facing the challenges brought on by the increasing average age of teachers and thewithdrawal of newly graduated teachers from teaching, which has led to children in preschooland primary and lower secondary school not getting the education they are supposed to have.
Special focus shall be directed at rural areas, where the percentage of unqualified teachers is
generally higher than in urban areas. The project entails, inter alia, the following measures:
a. Recruitment of teachers shall be increased, with a special focus on ways to increase
the number of men.
b. More recognition shall be given to the work of teachers.
c. New teachers shall be given more support during the first years of their careers.
d. Proposals shall be made as to how the quality and harmonisation of teachers’ job
development can be increased and how their working environment can be permanently
improved.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Within the budgetary framework of the cooperation board for the job
development of teachers and school managers.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the cooperation board
for the job development of teachers and school managers.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4,
4.5, 4.a, 4.c, 5.1, 10.3, 10.4 and 16.6.
15.2. School withdrawal rates of boys and students with a native language other than
Icelandic
The causes of withdrawal from school at the upper secondary level shall be examined,
especially among boys and students with a native language other than Icelandic. At the sametime, the results of research and other knowledge regarding the causes of withdrawals fromschool shall be used in policy-making, inter alia to form more focused solutions to prevent
withdrawals, as well as preventive and compensatory measures.
Time-frame: 2020–2021.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6,
4.c and 5.1.
15.3. Gender equality and gender-based educational choices
Efforts shall be made to balance the gender ratio in upper secondary education and to
reduce gender-based educational choices and thereby a gender-divided labour market where
educational choices affect both the choice of career and continuing education.
Measures shall include:a. Efforts shall be made to gather information, research and map the gender ratios in all
student groups and service items of the upper secondary educational system and then tochange the supply and mechanisms of education in upper secondary schools and continuing
education, including with regard to the development in the other Nordic countries with a viewto counteracting gender-based stereotypes.
b. Education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well
as vocational education at the upper secondary level shall be made more accessible andinteresting for students, with an increased emphasis on augmenting the role of girls in order tolevel the gender imbalance.

Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 2 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in collaboration with the
project Schools and Technology, under the auspices of GERT – a collaborative project of theFederation of Icelandic Industries, the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities and theMinistry.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1,
and 10.3.
15.4. Gender equality in upper secondary schools’ social activities
Efforts shall be made to equalise the participation of the genders in all types of social
activity within upper secondary schools, including among students of foreign origin anddisabled students. Measures shall be formulated in collaboration with the Icelandic Upper
Secondary Student Union.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 1 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.7, 5.1, 5.5, 5.c,and 10.2.
16. Gender equality and safety
16.1. Gender equality and safety in preschools, primary and lower secondary schools andupper secondary schools
Efforts shall be made to promote education and knowledge about gender-based
discrimination and sexual harassment, threats and violence among children and young people,
as well as all employees of preschools, primary and lower secondary schools and upper
secondary schools. This educational programme shall be adapted to the age and level ofmaturity of the children and young people, and knowledge of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child shall be promoted.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 1 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.1, 4.2, 4.5, 4.a,
5.1, 5.2 and 5.c.
16.2. Gender equality and safety in sports and youth activities and prevention against genderbased withdrawal from sports
Efforts shall be made to increase safety and gender equality in sports and youth activities
through measures designed to uproot gender-based negative stimuli and violence and toensure that everyone can seek help or pursue their rights with regard to incidents andmisconduct that may arise, without fearing the consequences. The objective is to promote a
safe environment regardless of the gender or status of children, adolescents and adults in otherrespects within the sports and youth activities movement. The project’s measures shall
include:a. Electronic access to criminal records shall be ensured in order to enable sports andyouth activities’ organisations to enforce the Youth Act, No. 70/2007, and the Sports Act, No.
64/1998, according to which sports and youth activities’ organisations are forbidden from

employing individuals who have received punitive sentencing due to contraventions against
the provisions of Chapter XXII of the General Penal Code, No. 19/1940. The same applies toindividuals who have received punitive sentencing due to contraventions against the provisions of the
Narcotics Act, No.65/1974, in the last five years. This provision only applies to those who serve

as volunteers in sports activities.
b. The reasons for withdrawal from organised sports and youth activities shall be
investigated specially with regard to gender and other factors.
c. The Communication Counsellor for Sports and Youth Activities, who works under
the auspices of the Minister of Education, Science and Culture, shall ensure that sports andyouth activities are conducted in a safe environment and that children, adolescents and adults,
regardless of their gender or other status, can practice sports or youth activities and can seek
help or pursue their rights with regard to incidents and misconduct that may arise, without
fearing the consequences.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: A total of ISK 2 million, as well as ISK 12 million annually for theCommunication Counsellor’s activities.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in collaboration with the
Ministry of Justice and the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.2, 5.c and
10.2.
17. Gender equality at the university level
17.1. Cooperation between the universities’ gender equality officers
Efforts shall be made to continue the cooperation between the gender equality officers of
the Icelandic universities, including on writing on Wikipedia.is, gender equality education,
examining stereotypes within the university community and the annual informative lecture topromote knowledge and cooperation. Measures will include the following:a. The forum for the universities’ gender equality officers shall draw up a joint project
and budget estimate for the periods of 2020–2021 and 2022–2023, with performance-related
objectives and evaluation criteria.
b. A presentation shall be made on the implementation of projects.
c. An annual report on the implementation of projects shall be drawn up, taking the
project plans into consideration.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 3 million in total
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.4, 4.5, 4.7, 5.1,
5.2 and 10.3.
17.2. Gender equality and university positions
The reasons for women’s withdrawal from scientific work shall be examined, as well as thereasons why men generally receive more academic promotions in scientific work than
women, by examining the universities’ promotion systems in the context of family situations
and career choices. An action programme shall be drawn up, taking the results into
consideration, in order to reduce the withdrawal of women from academic work and to workon the factors that affect academic promotions from a perspective of gender and genderequality.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.

Cost estimate: ISK 2 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.a, 5.b, 5.c, 10.3, and 16.6.
18. Gender equality, culture and art
Efforts shall be made to ensure an even gender ratio among artists with regard to theavailability of culture and arts under the auspices of the state, as well as demand(consumption of culture). The main measures to be taken during the Action Programme’s
term of validity shall include:a. State cultural institutions shall draw up and implement gender equality plans with
objectives and evaluation criteria covering allocations from public funds and the cultural andartistic events held by the institutions, with a view to ensuring an equal gender ratio.
b. Gender book-keeping shall be introduced in order to catalogue and store genderspecific information that shall be made accessible through the institutions’ websites.
c. The ministries’ and government institutions’ consumption of culture shall be
examined with regard to gender and gender equality perspectives, checking whether thisconsumption is in conformity with the gender ratio of allocations to artists from public funds.
d. The ministries and government institutions shall draw up and implement genderequality plans with objectives and evaluation criteria pertaining to their cultural consumption,
including the buying and leasing of works of art. Gender book-keeping shall be introduced inorder to catalogue and store gender-specific information that shall be accessible through theministries’ and institutions’ websites.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 2 million in total
Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 4.7, 5.1, 5.5, 10.3,
and 16.6.
E. MEN AND EQUALITY
19. Men and #metoo (#églíka)
Efforts shall be made to raise awareness about the responsibilities and roles of men withregard to the #metoo (#églíka) disclosure of gender-based and sexual harassment andviolence. The project shall, inter alia, cover the relationship between gender-based and sexual
harassment and violence on the one hand and ideas about masculinity, boundaries and consent
on the other. The proposals of the Action Group on Men and Gender Equality and the workthat has been carried out as part of the official response to #metoo (#églíka) shall be taken into
consideration in the project work. The Centre for Gender Equality is responsible for the
project and its implementation, in consultation with and, as the case may be, collaboration
with the Icelandic academic community, social partners, non-governmental organisations andauthorities.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Prime Minister´s Office and the Centre for Gender Equality.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5, 10.3, 16.1, 16.2,
and 16.10.
20. Men and health-care
Men’s use of the electronic service gateway Heilsuvera, which has the purpose to enableeasier access to information about health and its influencing factors for the public, shall bepromoted. At the same time, efforts shall be made to ease and equalise people’s to access todata from their own medical files and to promote safe communication with doctors or healthcare staff. The website therefore has both a preventive and service function. The project iscarried out in collaboration with the Directorate of Health and entails the following:a. Examining the reasons why men’s and women‘s use of the website is so unequalfrom a viewpoint of gender-based influencing factors.
b. Examining the general and gender-based usage with a view to factors like age,marital status, residence and origin.
c. Making proposals on specific measures to be taken in order to even out the ratio ofmen and women and increase general use of the website, inter alia with regard to theaforementioned factors.
d. Proposals with regard to point c shall then be introduced.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Fits within the funding appropriations.
Responsibility: The Ministry of Health.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 3.8, 5.1 and 10.3.
G. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
21. Gender and consumption
Efforts shall be made to raise awareness of the circular economy, the environmental andsocial impacts of the fashion and textile industries and the power of consumers to promote
decent and more environmentally sound manufacturing methods with an emphasis on socially
responsible consumption of fashion clothing, and on reuse and recycling. The objective of the
project is to have an impact on consumer behaviour in the spirit of social responsibility inorder to improve conditions for women, both as manufacturers and as consumers, by
informing the public, and especially women, of all the costs – literal as well as metaphorical –of the manufacturing and disposal of textiles. The objective is also to integrate gender
perspectives into measures to prevent waste in order to reduce wear on resources andgeneration of waste and to increase reuse and recycling. In this manner, women’s quality oflife can be safeguarded and further promoted by creating opportunities in green employment
and innovation with a focus on gender and environmental considerations, negate wage
inequality in the international arena and have a positive impact on the working environmentof women workers in the textile industry. The project shall be operated in collaboration with,inter alia, the Environment Agency of Iceland, the Consumer Agency, the Red Cross, thecompany Aftur and Iceland University of the Arts, and entails the following measures:
a. Gathering data about production, procurement, use and consumption of textiles.
b. The data is to be set forth in such a way as to be useful for educational purposes.
c. Setting up a website containing information for the public and companies about the
impacts textile production and consumption have on the environment and on gender issues.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: ISK 1.5 million.
Responsibility: The Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Conforms to all the sustainable
development goals but mainly upholds goals 5.a, 8.4, 8.5, 8.7, 8.8, 10.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.4,
12.5, 13.2, 13.3, 16.b, 17.14 and 17.16.

22. Men’s participation in gender equality activities
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall place an emphasis on the role of men in genderequality activities in the international arena. This shall include holding ‘barber-shop’
conferences within the international bodies Iceland is a member of, e.g. the World Bank, inorder to urge men to shoulder their responsibilities in the field of gender equality. This shallalso include presenting Iceland’s point of view on this issue within the international bodies
Iceland is a member of and in bilateral relations with other states. Icelandic men shall be
encouraged to support the aims of the UN Women HeForShe campaign in accordance with
Iceland’s obligations under the UN Women IMPACT campaign. Collaboration within the
Icelandic governmental system shall be increased, as well as collaboration with nongovernmental organizations. The objective of the project is to increase men’s ownership ofand participation in equal rights activities.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goal 5.
23. Introduction of equal rights certification in development cooperation
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall introduce equal rights certification into Iceland’sinternational development cooperation in collaboration with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) during the term of validity of the Action Programme. The main objectiveof the certification is to support the Ministry and Iceland’s embassies in Lilongwe andKampala in their internal development cooperation strategy work, with a special emphasis on
external activities in the field of gender equality. The implementation process begins in June2019 and the estimated end of the certification process is in January 2021. The plan is for
Iceland to become the first of the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and its Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to
implement such a gender equality certification process.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Conforms to all the sustainable
development goals but mainly upholds goals 3.1, 3.2, 3.7, 4.1, 4.5, 4.a, 5.4, 6.1 and 6.2.
24. Equal opportunities for the genders in international trade - “Gender equality inexport”
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall focus on clearing away gender-specific trade
obstacles and spread the knowledge about gender equality that has been gained in Iceland, e.g.
through EEA Grants. The Ministry shall purposefully “market” gender equality projects in the
15 states that are eligible for EEA Grants, in order to disseminate local experience andknowledge to them. Additionally, efforts shall be made to utilise fully the funds available inorder to iterate the importance of the gender equality focus and further build up the reputation
Iceland has made for itself as a country of gender equality, and the ideology that Iceland
wishes to spearhead in the international arena.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall strive to have gender equality provisions inserted
into international trade agreements, under the auspices of EFTA as well as in other bilateralagreements. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall furthermore continue to bring up genderequality in discussions within the World Trade Organisation and follow up on the declaration

on the empowerment of women and participation in international trade that was signed byover WTO 120 states during the ministerial meeting of the Organisation in 2017. The
declaration was made through the efforts of a working group led by Iceland, the International
Trade Centre (ITC) and Botswana.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall make an effort to raise the number of women
working on trade matters within the Ministry, for example in making trade agreements andfree trade agreements, in committees and working groups in the field of international trade,
and as members of official or ministerial trade delegations abroad.
Time-frame: 2020-2023.
Cost estimate: Financed.
Responsibility: The Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Mainly upholds goals 5.1, 5.4, 8.3, 8.5,
8.7 and 8.8.
Explanatory report.
The Prime Minister has made a proposal for parliamentary resolution on the government’s seventh
Action Programme for Gender Equality in keeping with Article 11 of the Act on Equal Status andEqual Rights of Women and Men, No.10/2008 (the Gender Equality Act) The Action Programme

for Gender Equality is intended to define the role of the authorities at any given time anddescribe projects that are either meant to throw a light on the positions of the genders or entail
direct measures to increase gender equality.
The first general law on the equal status of men and women came into force in 1976: the Act on
Equality Between Men and Women, No.78/1976. Women and men have enjoyed formal genderequality under the law since then and the authorities have had an obligation of initiative tostrive to create genuine gender equality. The first Action Programme was proposed in
December 1986 in keeping with the revised Gender Equality Act (No. 65/1985) which was
adopted at the end of the UN Decade for Women (1976–1985) and was, inter alia, based on
the resolutions of the UN World Conferences on Women. In the same year, the 1979 UN
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women was ratified by
Althingi. Since then, the Gender Equality Act has been revised three times (in 1991, 2000 and2008) in holding with societal changes and development in the international arena. This
proposal for a parliamentary resolution on a Gender Equality Action Programme for 2020–2023 is submitted after having received proposals from the ministries and the Centre for
Gender Equality and with consideration to the discussions of the Gender Equality Conference,as per Article 10 of the Act, which was held for the fifth time in march 2018. The proposal
was submitted to the Gender Equality Council for presentation and then for comment to theGovernment Offices consultation portal. A total of six comments were received and were
presented to the relevant ministries. The comments received led to one amendment but willotherwise be kept for reference for the Programme’s implementation. This proposal isaccompanied by a report on the situation and development of gender equality in 2015–2017
that the Minister for Gender Equality submitted to the Gender Equality Forum in 2018. Also
amended to the proposal is the minister’s reply to an enquiry in Althingi on the status of the
projects of the current Gender Equality Action Programme (2016–2019).
A great deal of progress has been made since the first Gender Equality Act entered into
force. The importance of this policy area has increased considerably and in the international
arena Iceland is regarded as exemplary with regard to legislation, the government’s focus on
fulfilling the obligation of initiative in the field of gender equality, and the success in
implementing legally mandated projects. The steps forward include a considerable increase inthe number of women among elected representatives and amendments to the legislation
intended to ensure an equal ratio and influence of women and men on public committees,councils and boards and on the management boards of companies. Purposeful steps have also
been taken to negate gender-based pay differences and the Act on Maternity and Parental
Leave has likewise promoted a change of attitude and equalised the position of women andmen in the labour market. Iceland has, for a long time (2009–2018), been at the top of theWorld Economic Forum’s list of states with the highest measured gender equality. The
Forum’s analysis evaluates each state based on four key factors: access to health care,educational level, participation in politics and economic situation. Each key factor is analysedand data is gathered on participation in the labour market, pay equality, income from workand the gender ratio among managers and professionals. The image drawn up in the World
Economic Forum’s assessment does not, however, give an overall view of the position of
women and men and this applies especially to the labour market. Gender-specific choices of
education and gender ratios within occupations characterise the Icelandic labour market anddespite the fact that women’s labour force participation has for a long while been the highest
among the OECD member states, women are more likely to work part time jobs and as of yet
their opportunities for job advancement seem to be not as good as that of men. The legally
mandated gender quotas for the management boards of public limited-liability companies,
corporations and pension funds has had a positive effect on gender ratios, but the development
is slower with regard to increasing the number of women managing directors and chief
executive officers of the largest companies in the economic sector, where men still form alarge majority. The results of research done by Statistics Iceland in collaboration with thegovernment and social partner organisations’ Action Group on Equal Pay in the period of
2008–2016 reveals a steadily decreasing gender pay gap, with an adjusted pay gap of 7,4 %during that period. Non-adjusted pay differences are also becoming rarer, but still exist. The
division of the period of 2008–2016 into three-year periods show that non-adjusted
differences went from 4,8 % in 2008–2010, down to 3,6 % in 2014–2016.
The Gender Equality Act provides for the principle that women and men shall receive equalpay for work that is of equal value and comparable, and that the criteria used to determine pay
shall not entail discrimination based on gender. The government has, in collaboration withsocial partner organisations placed a high emphasis on projects that are intended to equalise
the position of women and men in the labour market and root out gender-based pay
differences. In June 2017 Althingi adopted a Bill amending the Gender Equality Act, which
entailed a legal obligation for companies and institutions that generally employ more than 25
persons on an annual basis to obtain equal pay certification on the basis of the ÍST 85
standard, Equal wage management system - Requirements and guidance. The equal pay
standard is a management tool that enables employers to install and maintain a pay systemthat ensures pay equality for the genders in workplaces.
In the last several years the discussion about the importance of men’s participation ingender equality activities has become louder and it is considered imperative for policymaking within this policy area to take account of the position of both genders, since theobjective is for the measures to increase the quality of life and opportunities for all. Women’s
participation in the labour market led to a change in the attitude towards the roles and divisionof work of the genders in society, and as an example of this a great majority of men now
utilise their right to parental leave. Research shows that mothers and fathers place a strongemphasis on there still being a need for improving parents’ opportunities to coordinate theduties placed upon them by work and family life. The government’s decision to increase theright to parental leave to a total of 12 months in 2020, where each parent gets five months andthey get two extra months that are not bound to either parent, is a step towards creating morebalance.

In the last several years, the government has focused on projects with the objective of
stopping gender-based violence, sexual harassment and violence in intimate relationships.
This work has been focused on a broad consultation between different professional classes
and there is an ongoing project to promote better working procedures and a change of attitude
inside and outside the administrative system. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir appointed asteering group on comprehensive reform with regard to sexual violence. The group’s mainrole is to promote progressive and harmonised government measures against gender-based
violence and sexual and gender-based harassment and to put Iceland into the vanguard of thefight against all kinds of violence. The group’s projects include the formation of a policy
against digital violence, proposing methods to promote the legal status and right tocompensation for victims of sexual offences and making proposals for harmonised official
responses to the #metoo movement, both with regard to society as a whole as well as theGovernment Offices and their institutions as employers.
Gender equality is a key emphasis in the government’s coalition agreement and the aim isfor ongoing measures in the field of gender equality, both here at home and in theinternational arena. In light of the increased significance of gender equality in general, thecurrent government’s focus on this policy area, the Gender Equality Act’s provisions on
gender mainstreaming in all of the Government Offices’ and state institutions’ policy-making,as well as the far-reaching dimension of gender equality, the policy area was transferred to a
special Department of Equality under the Prime Minister´s Office. This was done by adopting
the government’s proposal for parliamentary resolution, No. 1/149, on the altered organisationof ministries within the Government Offices of Iceland. The Directorate oversees the future
policy-making for gender equality and a total review of the administrative organisation ofgender equality matters. It is intended to play a central role in leading and coordinating thegovernment’s gender equality activities. This arrangement is in line with the Prime Minister´s
Office’s main role, which is to lead and coordinate the activities of the ministries under theadministration of the Prime Minister. The review of the administrative organisation of genderequality has the objective to increase the visibility of the policy area, coordinate projects andto mainstream gender considerations into the policy-making and decision-taking within the
Icelandic Government Offices. This is in line with the increased emphasis, both locally, cf.
the government’s Gender Equality Action Programme, and internationally, on mainstreaming
as a methodology to reach the objectives of increased equality between women and men in allareas of society.
The Prime Minister’s proposal for a parliamentary resolution on an Action Programme for
Gender Equality for the next four years is intended to encompass the government’s mosturgent projects within this policy area. It is not an exhaustive listing of the projects that areconsidered to be urgent. The proposal entails a Programme that is divided into five Chaptersand 24 projects that are scheduled to be carried out during its term of validity. This
arrangement is meant to ensure that the government’s emphases and prioritisation in the areaof gender equality are clearly shown.
The proposal continues to place an emphasis on gender budgeting and gendermainstreaming in all policy-making and decision-taking. To that end, a special focus will beplaced on the collection of gender-specific data and statistics, as well as collaboration with
Statistics Iceland on analyses and research. Mention should also be made of the government’s
ongoing emphasis on the implementation of the Act on Equal Pay Certification and measuresdesigned to increase gender equality in the labour market which focus, inter alia, on theharmonisation of family life and work life and increased gender equality in the management
boards of companies. The Chapter on gender-based violence and sexual violence defines thegovernment’s projects regarding the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Convention
on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul

Convention), which Iceland ratified in 2018. The project is, inter alia, part of the preparations
for Iceland’s first hearing, which will take place in 2021. There are also projects that have, on
the one hand, the objective of increasing the participation of men and boys in all genderequality activities and on the other hand for all policy-making within the policy area to takebetter note of their social position. The proposal includes projects that entail an increased
emphasis on gender equality within schools, continuing cooperation between the universities’
gender equality officers, research into the withdrawal of women from scientific work, boys’
withdrawal from upper secondary education, and to decrease gender-based choice of
education, inter alia with measures to increase the participation of girls in education in thefields of technology, science and mathematics. Efforts will also be made to ensure an evengender ratio among artists with regard to the availability of cultural events and art under the
auspices of the state, as well as demand (consumption of culture). Efforts will also be made to
take into account the gender equality perspective in the implementation of the regional
development plan.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Iceland’s international obligations in the field of genderequality. Iceland has ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women and its optional protocol and has urged other states to enforce
its provisions in full. The proposal provides for a project on the introduction of genderequality certification in Iceland’s development cooperation in collaboration with the UN
Development Programme, UNDP, and for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to continue toemphasise the role of men in gender equality activities in the international arena. The Ministry
for the Environment and Natural Resources has defined a project on gender and consumption
where efforts are to be made to raise awareness of the circular economy, the environmental
and social impacts of the fashion and textile industries and the power of consumers topromote acceptable and more environmentally sound manufacturing methods with anemphasis on socially responsible consumption of fashion, reuse and recycling. An emphasis
will also be placed on making the voices of women heard with regard to climate issues and forprovisions regarding gender mainstreaming to be included in international agreements on
trade, environment and climate. Iceland will continue to support the fight for gender equality
in the international arena in various ways, not least by being a progressive nation and a model
for all things concerning gender equality and a leader in the safeguarding of human rights andprogress in the world.
A. THE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMThe Icelandic Gender Equality Fund, which was founded on 19 June 2015 in celebration of
the centenary of suffrage for women in Iceland, funds projects and research that aim topromote gender equality in Icelandic society and worldwide. The Fund receives an annual
allocation from the state budget for five years, ISK 100 million annually from the beginningof 2016 to the end of 2020. The Fund’s administration was transferred to the The Icelandic
Centre for Research, Rannís, at the beginning of 2019. At the same time, some additional
focus points were added to the criteria for determining who would be given allocations tofinance projects with the aim of negating gender-based and sexual harassment, gender-based
violence and violence in intimate relationships, as well as to educate young people and takepreventive measures. According to the proposal, in 2021–2022 a summary will be made of the
projects and research projects that have been granted allocations from the Fund, taking into
consideration the Fund’s objectives.
The Gender Equality Fund is administered by the Prime Minister´s Office. The objective of
the Fund is to promote the government’s gender equality work by granting allocations toprojects within the ministries of the Government Offices. The Fund is administered according
to rules No. 100/2019, on allocations from the Gender Equality Fund. According to Article 1,the Fund’s objective is to „promote follow-up to projects from the Parliamentary Resolution on a
Gender Equality Action programme so that the results, experience and knowledge gained through the
projects can be utilised“.
Article 13 of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men No.10/2008provides forgender equality officers within the ministries. The role of the gender equality officers is toaddress and monitor gender equality activities within the areas of competence of theministries in question and their subordinate bodies, including involvement in gendermainstreaming within each ministry's field of competence. Gender equality officers have awide range of responsibilities and operate under the Government Offices’ working procedures
and Gender Equality Programme, which further define their role. Gender equality officers
make their own activity plan, the objective of which is to organise and coordinate their workand give an overview of the projects they are responsible for. Gender equality officers oversee
the implementation of the Government Offices’ Gender Equality Programme and projects
within the Action Programme for Gender Equality, as well as other projects they are entrusted
with. A legally mandated brief of the progress of the gender equality officers’ projects shallbe sent to the Centre for Gender Equality along with their annual explanatory reports. It is
important for gender equality officers to be given the opportunity to acquire expert knowledge
in the field of gender equality by attending courses, lectures and continuing education courses
on the development of expert knowledge in the policy area in accordance with the education
programme.
The first Government Offices Gender Equality Programme was adopted in 2013, following
a wide-ranging consultation with the participation of the staff, whereas before that time eachministry had been operating under its own programme. The Government Offices’ second
Gender Equality Programme will be in force until March 2020. The objectives of the Action
Programme’s projects are to ensure, for the Government Offices’ staff, the rights provided forin Articles 19–22 of the Gender Equality Act on equal pay and the introduction of the equalpay system, equal opportunities for employment, continuing education and other factors thatwill increase job skills, harmonise family and work life, as well as measures against genderbased and sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. Each ministry is responsible for
enforcing the Government Offices’ Gender Equality Programme. The ministries are free toprioritise projects and likewise to determine more projects to be undertaken, via special action
programmes for each ministry.
Gender mainstreaming in policy-making and decision-taking is a method for reachinggender equality objectives. The UN Sustainable Development Goals underline the importanceof gender equality as both an independent goal and a horizontal goal that encompasses all
issues and policy areas. International organisations like the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have also placed an emphasis on the importance ofmainstreaming for good governance practices.
The Chapter on objectives in the Gender Equality Act, No.10/2008, provides that measures shall betaken towards gender mainstreaming in all policy-making and decision-taking within all sectors ofsociety. Gender mainstreaming is also provided for in Article 17 of the Act: „Gendermainstreaming shall be applied to all policy-making and decision-taking by the ministries andby government institutions operating within their fields of competence. The same applies toall decision-taking within the ministries and institutions as the case may be.“ Amainstreaming project management team was appointed by the then Minister for Social
Affairs and Equality on 27 December 2017. The team’s role was to draw up a plan for
implementing gender mainstreaming into policy-making and decision-taking within the
Government Offices and government institutions. Work will continue on a comprehensive
implementation plan that will take into account the mainstreaming projects that have alreadybeen implemented within the ministries, including in connection with the government’s
previous Gender Equality Action Programmes, gender equality assessment of government

Bills, the implementation of the Public Finance Act, No. 123/2015, and the plan to introduce
gender budgeting for the period of 2019–2023.
Gender budgeting has been applied in drawing up the general budget since 2009. Until
2015 it was mainly a matter of emphasising project work in conjunction with creatingknowledge. Gender budgeting became a legal requirement under the Public Finance Act,No.
123/2015. Since then, there have been ongoing efforts include gender mainstreaming in work
processes in connection with the fiscal plan and the drawing up of the general budget, with anemphasis on analysing the gender situation within public competences and policy areas. In
2018 the government adopted a five-year plan on gender budgeting for 2019–2023. In thesame year, a gender equality assessment was carried out for all the fields of competence of theGovernment Offices. An abstract of the gender equality assessment was included in the firstbaseline report on gender budgeting that was published in March 2019. It shows the genderequality situation within all fields of competence within the fiscal plan. Since the introductionof gender budgeting, a great deal of knowledge about the methods of gender budgeting has
been accumulated within the administration, as well as about the gender effects of individual
fields of competence and policy areas. Gender budgeting has thus become a codified part of
the traditional activities of the administration, promoting increased discussion and decisiontaking on expenditure and revenues in the light of gender and gender equality considerations.
Althingi adopted a parliamentary resolution on a policy-making regional development planfor the period of 2018–2024 on 11 June 2018. The Plan lays out the state’s policy on regional
matters and is intended to promote positive regional development and increase regional
competitiveness, as well as that of the country as a whole. The main objective of the regional
development plan is to equalise the employment and service opportunities of all the
inhabitants of the country, equalise living standards and promote sustainable development of
the regions. The Plan includes 54 measures, costing in total ISK 3,5 billion during the period,that will either lead to direct measures or to integration with measures within other official
plans, in order to reach the aforementioned main objective. The aim is, with regard to theobjectives of the regional development plan and the government’s emphasis on genderequality, to make gender equality assessments of the individual measures of the regional
development plan for 2018–2024 and of the allocations of funds for them with regard to theperspectives of general equality and gender equality.
B. THE LABOUR MARKET – EQUAL PAY
The Act on Equal Pay Certification entered into force on 1 January 2018. The enforcementof the Act will continue in a focused manner, as the objective is for all companies andinstitutions covered by it to have received equal pay certification by the end of 2023. Ways
will be sought to make the implementation process of equal pay systems as smooth as
possible, both for the official and public market, including by developing a tool for jobclassification and pay analysis and an improved equal pay certification toolbox on the
Government Offices’ website. Targeted work will also be undertaken for promotion andeducation activities concerning accredited certification of equal pay systems under regulation
No. 1030/2017 on the Equal Pay Certification of Companies and Institutions on the Basis of
the Equal Pay Standard. Additionally, regular impact assessments will be made of the effectsof the Act on pay development, employee benefits and job development opportunities of men
and women. The Centre for Gender Equality gathers information on the certification of theequal pay systems of companies and institutions and publishes a brief in the minister’sbiennial report on the situation and development of gender equality. The regulatory
framework for the implementation of the certification service provider’s assessments and themonitoring of the equal pay certification process will be reinforced and the equal pay
certification standard, ÍST 85 Equal wage management system - Requirements and guidance,

will be updated.
The government and social partner organisations’ Action Group on Equal Pay was first
appointed by the Minister for Welfare in December 2012. The Action Group was appointed
for two years with a possibility of extension, and its appointment was extended twice, or until
the end of 2018. The minister appointed the chairperson and the Action Group was composedof representatives of the cross-industry organisations of wage earners in the labour market andtheir contracting parties, i.e. the Icelandic Federation of Labour, the Federation of State andMunicipal Employees, the Icelandic Confederation of University Graduates, the Ministry of
Finance and Economic Affairs, the Teachers' Association of Iceland, The Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture, the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities and theConfederation of Icelandic Enterprise. A specialist from the Ministry of Welfare worked with
the Action Group. The Action Group was, according to its official duty regulation, inter alia
expected to coordinate research into gender-based pay differences, oversee the introduction of
the equal pay standard, make proposals for policy development regarding ways to alter thegender-based division of work in the Icelandic labour market and disseminate information andadvice on equal pay to institutions and companies.
During the term of validity of the government’s new Action Programme, efforts will bemade to follow up on the projects set out in the proposals of the Action Group on Equal Pay
and Gender Equality in the Labour Market. The proposals are based on research, projects andconsultation within the Action Group and assume, inter alia, that regular, labour market-wide
research into the pay differences between men and women will continue. Specific attention
will be paid to investigating the effects of the introduction of equal pay certification on pay
differences and pay development in the labour market. There is a shortage of research into
how the responsibility of taking care of others is divided when family duties overlap withworking hours, e.g. with regard to children’s sick days, teacher’s professional developmentdays and parents’ school-related activities. Research shall also be made into the lack oftransparency regarding pay information, its effects on the gender pay gap and thedevelopment and structure of collective pay agreements in the labour market shall be
reviewed in order to evaluate whether gender-based pay differences can be traced to systemic
factors within them.
The Act on Gender Quotas on Corporate Boards entered into force in 2013 (cf. Act No.13/2010
Amending the Act on Public Limited-liability Companies and the Act on Private Limited-liability
Companies). The Act states that the boards of public and private limited-liability companies

that employ more than 50 employees on an annual basis shall have a representative of eachgender when the board is composed of three persons and when there are more than threeboard members, a minimum ratio of 40 % shall be ensured for each gender. The objective of
the amendment was to promote a more equal ratio of women and men in power positions
within public and private limited-liability companies, with increased transparency andimproved access to information. This aim of the legislation reflects the objectives of the Act
on the Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men, which states that efforts shall bemade to equalise the influence of women and men in society.
In 2014 the Centre for Gender Equality, in collaboration with the Icelandic Stock
Exchange, the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise and the University of Reykjavik,
conducted a survey of the governance of Icelandic companies with the aim of, inter alia,
examining how successful the companies that fall under the legislation had been in fulfilling
this legal obligation. The survey showed an increase in the number of women on company
boards. It also showed that the attitude towards the legislation was developing into a morepositive direction, and that the opinion of the board members on whether the legislation would
improve the governance was positive. However, the survey did show that the selection
process for the boards was weak, but in order to be able to draw any concrete conclusions

about the results of the legislation it would have to be clear that the most qualified individuals
had been chosen to serve on the board. The researchers pointed out that for a further survey ofthe effects of the legislation, further research must be made to determine what real influence
women serving on boards have on their governance and whether an increased diversity on
boards will lead to a change in procedures and better decision-taking. The Minister ofTourism, Industry and Innovation will evaluate the legislation on gender ratios on corporateboards during the period of validity of the government’s Action Programme for Gender
Equality. An analysis would be made of whether the legislation’s objectives were being
fulfilled and what its real benefits are, including with regard to the objectives of the Gender
Equality Act on the equal influence of women and men in society. Following the analysis,
work would be started on analysing ways for improvement, should it be considered necessary.
The objectives of the Act on Maternity and Parental Leave, No.95/2000are to ensure that a baby
can enjoy being with both its parents and to make it possible for parents to harmonise family and work
life. One of the main challenges in fulfilling the objectives of that legislation is to endure thatboth parents have the chance to care for their baby during parental leave without aconsiderable disruption of their economical or employment situation. Statistics supplied by
the Directorate of Labour suggest that since 2009, the number of fathers who utilised theirright to parental leave fell steadily until 2014. During the revision of the parental leave systemin the last few years the government has therefore focused on raising the maximum payments
to parents who utilise their right to parental leave in order to increase the likelihood thatparents, especially fathers, will fully utilise their right to parental leave. Therefore, themaximum payments to parents on parental leave have been raised incrementally from ISK
500,000 per month in 2017, to ISK 600,000 for parents of babies that are born, adopted or
permanently fostered on or after 1 January 2019. The number of fathers who utilised theirright to parental leave went up with the raising of the maximum parental leave payments. In
2020–2021 the aggregate right of parents to parental leave will be increased from nine to
twelve months in two steps, where each parent will have an individual right to five months ofparental leave, plus an additional two months of shared rights. The longer parental leave will
benefit the parents of babies who are born, adopted or permanently fostered after,
respectively, 1 January 2020 and 1 January 2021. These measures are made in accordancewith the proposals of the Working Group on Future Policy With Regard to Parental Leave,
which stated that the principal object should be for both parents to fully utilise their right toparental leave.
Svanni – the Women’s Loan Guarantee Fund, has been operated in its current form since2011 and is owned by the Prime Minister´s Office, the Ministry of Industries and Innovationand the City of Reykjavik. The aim of the fund is to continue to support innovative women’sbusiness projects by providing guarantees for loans. The project has been operated incollaboration with financial institutions and consultants in the field of project implementation.
A report issued by the Fund’s governing board in 2019 states that the Fund has received a
total of 158 applications and a total of 22 loan guarantees have been granted to date. The
Fund's governing board has been planning its revision and has made proposals to its owners
regarding its continuing operations and future role and during the new Programme’s period ofvalidity the Fund’s operations will be revised.
C. GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCEThe Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against womenand domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) entered into force on 1 August 2018. The
Istanbul Convention is the first legally binding international convention that takes acomprehensive approach to eradicating violence against women and provides for the rights ofvictims and obligations for public entities to ensure preventive measures, give protection andassist women who are victims of violence, educate the public, authorities and specialists, andto offer solutions and therapy to perpetrators. Iceland’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention
is in keeping with the government’s objectives on measures to eradicate gender-based andsexual violence, including violence in intimate relationships. The implementation of an
Action Plan under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice, regarding the treatment of sexual
offences within the justice system in 2018–2022, is part of the fulfilment of that objective, as
is the appointment of a steering group on comprehensive improvements with regards to sexual
violence, which, inter alia, is working on proposals for measures against digital violence,
responses to the #metoo stories of women and a revision of policies with regard to preventive
measures and education on sexual violence and harassment.
The project to draw up a policy-making national plan on the implementation of the Istanbul
Convention is based on Article 10 of the Convention, which provides for the definition of the
responsibilities of the public sector for coordinating, implementing and monitoring of
measures inherent to their obligations under the Convention. The national plan will also havethe objective to create an overview of the introduction of legislation and government
measures for the implementation of the Convention and to prepare for Iceland’s first hearing
before the Council of Europe’s supervisory committee for the implementation of its
obligations under the Convention, which will take place in 2021.
The Icelandic police’s workplaces are characterised by a great deal of gender division
between departments, especially among police officers, where the ratio of women to men
decreases the higher up the ranks one looks. A 2013 survey of work culture and gender
relations within the police force revealed that although women were 17–33% of graduatesfrom the police training program in 1999 to 2013, the percentage of women among lowranking police officers was only 12.6 %. At the same time, research has shown that people
tend to feel more comfortable working in mixed workplaces, especially were services to the
public, both men and women, characterises the work carried out, such as law enforcement. It
is therefore important for the service to take both genders into consideration and that the work
environment be an attractive place for individuals regardless of their gender.
The percentage of women has increased since the survey was made and had risen to 21 %in 2018. However, the survey also revealed a bigger percentage of withdrawal from the job by
women than by men, which was, inter alia, traced to the work culture within the police force,
which was characterised by bullying, sexual harassment and negative attitudes towards
women. Manifold measures were made following the survey, including education about
gender equality. Despite the measures taken, not many women have applied for available
positions within the police force, especially in the upper ranks. Reports from 2018 on thechallenges and opportunities in the equal rights activities within the Reykjavik area police
force show that workplace culture, negative attitudes towards women and the process used in
hiring and promotion are the dominating reasons. The results show that around half of thestaff think that the position of women within the agency is worse than that of the men, while
the other half thinks that the gender equality situation is just fine. There are considerable
differences between the genders, with the majority of the men thinking that the positions andopportunities of the genders are equal, whereas only a small percentage of the women
believes this to be the case. The objective of the project is to address the above-mentioned
challenges by making a follow-up survey of these factors and taking measures based on theoutcome.
D. GENDER EQUALITY, EDUCATION AND CULTURE, SPORTS AND YOUTHACTIVITIESWork on drawing up an educational policy to be used until 2030 is ongoing. It will focus on
education for all and on giving everyone a chance to develop on their own terms and fostertheir talents for studying, sports and other interests. In order for this to happen, all genderimbalances within the educational system need to be corrected and gender equality educationmust be increased even more, cf. the Action Programme’s proposals for measures. The main
issue to be addressed is to take measures to decrease gender-based withdrawal from upper
secondary education, which is higher for boys than for girls and can be partially explained bydifferent results from exams at the end of lower secondary school. The withdrawal of boys
and of children of foreign origin will therefore be specifically examined, since the PISAresults indicate that these groups have an increased likelihood of withdrawal. The collection
and analysis of data for this group of students must be improved, followed by a definition of
key numbers so that the development of withdrawals can be monitored and appropriate
measures taken. Measures to reduce gender-based education choices will continue, such as thepresentations for girls in the 10th grade of lower secondary school to show them theopportunities for continuing education in computer science, engineering and other sciencesthat were made in collaboration between the University of Reykjavik and the government andsocial partner organisations’ Action Group on Equal Pay, with a grant from the Gender
Equality Fund. Efforts to increase the number of men in the teaching profession and balance
the gender ratio in the ranks of scholars, both of which affect what kinds of role models
children and young people can see, shall continue, as well as the dissemination of knowledge
and creative efforts. The consultation forum of the universities’ gender equality officers willcontinue to operate. Its objective is to raise awareness and support the creation of knowledge
about gender equality within the university community. At the same time, gender equality
education for teachers will be continued, along with the dissemination of practical information
about educational materials suitable for students in preschools, primary and lower secondary
schools and upper secondary schools. A safe educational environment, free of gender-based
and sexual harassment, threats and violence will continue to be promoted. Special emphasis
will be placed on the safety of children, young people and adults in sports and youth
activities, in relation to the Act on Youth Communication Officers that was adopted by
Althingi on 15 May 2019, and other proposals that were made in a 2018 report by a working
group on measures against sexual harassment and violent behaviour in sports and youth
activities. Finally, the allocation of funds for cultural and artistic activities, as well as demandby the state, will be examined from the perspective of gender and gender equality.
E. MEN AND EQUALITY
The subject of men and gender equality spans most areas of gender equality matters. In the
Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men No.10/2008a specific provision states that
the Centre for Gender Equality shall increase „the level of activity in gender equality issues, i.e. [sic]by greater involvement of men in gender equality work“. In the last several years the Centre for

Gender Equality has participated in research projects, both locally and abroad, with theobjective of explaining the effects of ideas about masculinity on issues including health,quality of life, participation in caring for others and the development of the labour market. In
light of the stories of women and girls under the #metoo hash tag, it is proposed thatawareness should be raised on the effects of ideas about masculinity on gender-based andsexual harassment and violent behaviour, personal boundaries and consent.
In 2017 the percentage of Icelanders over the age of 18 using the website Heilsuvera tocommunicate with healthcare providers was 13 %. The goal is to increase this percentage to30 % by 2020 and to 60 % by 2023. Data on those logging into Heilsuvera are analysed bygender and age and the data from 1 June 2016 to 18 November 2018 indicate that a
considerably larger number of women logged into Heilsuvera during that time period or 63 %,while men were only 37 % of users. The gender ratio evens out after the age of 70 and thesame applies to log-ins by parents on behalf of their children. Correspondingly, women usehealthcare services more than men. It can be assumed that women bring children more often
to healthcare centres than men do, since it would reflect the fact that women are more likely
to do unpaid work in caring for others and looking after the home. However, men use
Heilsuvera as much as women do when it comes to monitoring their children’s health, butthey do not use it for communications regarding their own health until after they turn seventy.
After that age there is no discernible gender difference in the use of the website. This lines up
with research results that show that generally speaking, women are more likely than men tothink they are in poor health and men are less likely to seek medical attention than women.
This may be a possible explanation for why men use Heilsuvera less than women do. The
objective of the project is to examine the reasons behind the differing usage of men andwomen on the one hand and men by age on the other, with the aim of increasing the numberof male users along with increasing the general usership of Heilsuvera.
F. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIESThe fashion and textile industries are among the biggest producing industries in the world,
as well as being resource heavy and causing extensive pollution on a global scale. There are
multiple and manifold challenges to be faced at the provision and production end of thecircular economy. Large corporations in the fashion industry put their production up for
tenders to the lowest bidders, who exploit the conditions in production areas where theworkers earn as little as 2 USD per day. This industry therefore bases its existence on cheap
labour, mostly composed of young women. The environmental impacts of this industry arevery bad and include both water-intensive production methods and the use of dangerous
chemicals that in many places are dumped into the surrounding area without purification,
causing environmental damage and negative impacts on the living conditions of the
inhabitants. The production’s climate impacts are also extensive, as consumption of clothinghas increased by 60 % since the year 2000 and worldwide the total carbon dioxide emissions
from the production of fashion items is thought to be 5 %, mainly due to the coal used to
produce energy for the factories. The useful life of each article of clothing has likewise
become shorter, thus increasing waste, which is a persistent and growing problem. Therefore,
the industry as a whole has a negative impact on the ecosystems of the earth, which has adomino effect that has the biggest impact on the poorer and less powerful sections of society.
Consumers affect both the demand and the dominating production and business models which
are reflected in the pay and working conditions of women labourers, the exploitation ofnatural resources and the impacts on the environment around the production facility. Thereare countless opportunities to do better, both with regard to the circumstances of womenlabourers as well as those of others who are affected by the fashion and textile industries.
Therefore, the Action Programme proposes a project to educate consumers and raise theirawareness of the effects their own consumer behaviour has on the conditions and rights ofwomen at the places of production and on their livelihoods, as well as the impacts of the
production on natural resources and the environment. The project will also aim to underline
the importance of reuse and recycling.
Gender equality is one of Iceland’s key points of emphasis within the United Nations
Human Rights Council and within other international institutions. Iceland and Suriname took
the initiative in creating a venue for men to discuss gender equality matters in 2015, so-calledbarber-shop conferences, where men are urged to shoulder responsibility and apply
themselves for the good of gender equality. A specific emphasis was placed on the mostwidespread human rights violation in the world, which is violence against women. The
barber-shop conferences are Iceland’s contribution to the UN Women HeForShe campaign
and the Icelandic government and UN Women have designed a toolbox for how best to holdbarber-shop conferences and events intended to empower men to participate in genderequality activities. In the last few years, the Icelandic diplomatic service has held 15 barbershop conferences within international organisations which Iceland is a member of, e.g. theUnited Nations in New York, at NATO headquarters, the United Nations Human Rights
Council, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) and the World Bank. The Icelandic government has also held barbershop conferences within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in Althingi. The proposal here isto continue on the same path towards increasing the ownership and participation of men ingender equality activities.
The policy for Iceland‘s international development cooperation in 2019–2023 is based on
the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ vision of the future as well as placing respect forhuman rights and gender equality at the fore. One of the ten Sustainable Development Goals
the policy sets is a special goal designed to promote gender equality and the empowerment of
women. In addition, there is an emphasis on incorporating gender mainstreaming into mostprojects and contributions to development cooperation, as well as supporting advocacy in thispolicy field. Policy-making work in keeping with this policy was begun within the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs’ Directorate for Development Cooperation in 2018, in order to elaborate astrategy for implementation in the field of gender equality within the fields of development
cooperation and humanitarian assistance, to support the implementation of an entirely new
development cooperation policy, especially objectives and emphases on gender equality. The
Directorate for Development Cooperation considers that by improving the inner management
processes and knowledge of its staff about gender equality and gender mainstreaming, it will
promote a more efficient implementation of the development cooperation policy. To this end,
the Directorate for Development Cooperation examined several methods and afterwards
decided to introduce a gender equality certification process using the methodology of theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which was designed for institutions in thefield of development cooperation. The Directorate designed and introduced a gender equality
tool in 2011, the Gender Equality Seal Programme. It is proposed that the UNDP genderequality certification be introduced, making Iceland the first of the OECD and DAC member
states to introduce gender equality certification into bilateral and multilateral development
cooperation. The process begins with a thorough analysis and evaluation of the situation,
followed by a plan for improving the internal work and implementation of the policy. At theend of the process, an external certification is carried out by the UNDP’s experts.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Iceland’s diplomatic missions serve a large number ofcompanies seeking to enter foreign markets, especially small and medium sized enterprisesthat in many cases are managed by women. The Promote Iceland Agency is part of this policy areaand falls under Act No.38/2010, with subsequent amendments. The Ministry’s trade services arecarried out in close cooperation with 17 bilateral Icelandic diplomatic missions in Asia,
Europe and North America. There are 12 trade and cultural attachés working in this field andrendering varied services related to trade and cultural activity efforts by Icelandic companies.
The majority of the trade attachés are women, and the number of women serving asambassadors in bilateral diplomatic missions is growing. The foreign service works closelywith the Promote Iceland Agency, the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise, the Iceland
Chamber of Commerce and bilateral Chambers and other organisations in the field of foreign
trade. The Promote Iceland Agency is working on making a long-term governmental andeconomic sector policy for foreign trade that will guarantee and clarify the prioritisation of themarketing of Iceland and marketing projects that will give the best support to increased
exports and professional and swift support for the companies that will give measurable returns
in increased exports of goods and services. The long-term policy will be adopted by the newly
established export and marketing committee. The committee has 36 general members, inaddition to five ministers, and 55 % of the members and their alternates are women. The

Ministry for Foreign Affairs is also working on even more effective ways to equalise the ratioof women on trade mission committees and other committees and working groups pertaining
to foreign trade. Part of this process is also to continue to develop the reputation (trademark)Iceland has built up as a country of gender equality and the ideology Iceland wishes to be aleading model for in the international arena. At Iceland’s initiative, the EFTA model for
agreements is now being updated to add provisions by which signatory states commit
themselves to establishing a trade environment offering equal opportunities to both genders,to enable the empowerment of women, remove gender-based obstacles in international tradeand ensure equal rights for both genders in the labour market. Emphasis will be placed on
clearing away gender-specific trade obstacles and spreading the knowledge about genderequality that has been gained in Iceland, e.g. through EEA Grants. The Ministry for Foreign
Affairs will strive to have gender equality provisions inserted into international trade
agreements, both under EFTA and in other bilateral agreements. These provisions will oblige
the signatory states to create together a trade environment of equal opportunities for bothgenders, enable the empowerment of women, remove gender-based obstacles in trade andensure equal rights for both genders in the labour market. Additionally, the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs will continue to bring up gender equality in discussions within the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) and follow up on the declaration on the empowerment of womenand participation in international trade that was signed by over 120 WTO member states
during the ministerial meeting of the Organisation in 2017 and which was drawn up by aworking group led by Iceland in cooperation with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and
Botswana.
Attached document I

Report by the Minister for Social Affairs and Equality on the situation and developmentof gender equality affairs in 2015–2017www.althingi.is/altext/pdf/150/fylgiskjol/s0102-f_I.pdf

Attached document II
Reply by the Minister for Social Affairs and Equality to an enquiry by AlbertínaFriðbjörg Elíasdóttir on the projects of the Parliamentary Resolution on an Action
Programme for Gender Equality, parliamentary document 787, case no. 254, 149th
legislative assembly.

www.althingi.is/altext/pdf/150/fylgiskjol/s0102-f_II.pdf