Secrets of the Sprakkar

Eliza Reid (2022).??Secrets of the sprakkar: Iceland’s extraordinary women and how they are changing the world.?Simon & Schuster Canada

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XI?in Iceland … the debate is no longer whether gender equality is an important objective but how to achieve it

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1?in Iceland, it’s considered bad luck to start a new job on a Monday

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2?Iceland … a country that is arguably closer than any other to clutching the golden ring of gender equality

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5?there are no trains in Iceland

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7?Start-ups are often male dominated, those in the software industry especially so

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7?[Reykjavík] the world’s northernmost capital city

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8?Our CEO was one of the four women at the company [fifteen employees]

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9?Iceland has one of the smallest populations of any independent nation.?On New Year’s Day 2021, it was a mere 368,590

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10?Iceland … one of the happiest nations on earth … the highest rate of acceptance of homosexuality among OECD countries … the world’s most peaceful country … no military

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10?Nordic countries … all five nations appear in the top ten list for happiness

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11?Denmark … ruled Iceland from the fourteenth century until 1944 ??

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11?Study after study, time after time, proves that the more gender-equal a society is, the happier, longer living, and more economically prosperous it is for all its citizens … Iceland is the planet’s finest country for women

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12?Iceland has the highest level of female participation in the workforce

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12?in 1980, the country [Iceland] voted in the world’s first democratically elected female head of state and had the world’s first openly lesbian head of government in 2009

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12?This sub-Arctic island is not a paradise for women; the patriarchy is powerful and ingrained.?For example … at the time of writing the country has no female CEOs among companies that trade on the Iceland Stock Exchange ?

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13?2008 … Iceland was one of the first and most visible casualties in the world of that year’s great economic downturn … Iceland’s recovery from financial disaster was remarkably swift

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22?[footnote]?raisins and hot dogs are never served together in Iceland

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23?Iceland’s fertility rate is one of the highest in Europe, at 1.97 children per woman … when Icelanders say someone is “rich,” they are often referring to offspring and not finances … women do still face strong societal pressure to have kids

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26?all prenatal care in Iceland is managed by midwives rather than doctors ?

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26?in low-risk pregnancies, there are fewer medical interventions during midwife-led births than those directed by a physician

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27?Iceland is not a country where chivalry is a guiding value

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28?in Iceland, the greatest chance of a meaningful encounter with residents’ is while sitting outside in a hot-tub (known as a “hot pot”)

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32?in Iceland, it’s rare to announce a name for the baby until its christening

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33?Iceland’s parental leave program is one of the cornerstones of the nation’s approach to equality

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36?Fathers who take parental leave … are less likely to separate from their partner … Boys … have fewer behavioral problems, and girls have fewer psychological problems.?In fact, studies show children’s relationships with their fathers are stronger and healthier in Iceland than in other countries

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39?In a 2020 speech, American senator Elizabeth Warren described affordable child care as “infrastructure for families.”

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40?[Unnur Brá Konrádsdóttir]?“… parental leave system … Imagine if all the men in Iceland were just working at home; there would be so much missing in society.”

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42?women in Iceland still bear the brunt of the mental load … inside the home

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43?a supportive healthcare system … in the preschool years … the education system emphasizes socialization … the icing on the cake, the “raisin at the end of the hot dog”

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44?Everyone must create their own priorities and choose where to concentrate limited energies … Accept imperfection.?Ask for help.?Offer it?

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48?[footnote]?Most Icelanders don’t have last names per se but instead use their father’s first name in the genitive case, with –son or –dóttir tacked on at the end

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49?starting at age six or earlier, most children travel to and from elementary school alone or with an older sibling

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49-50?Icelandic society decidedly encourages elementary school children to get involved in after-school programs by subsidizing activities … Rates of substance abuse and vandalism among Icelandic teens have plummeted since these recreation grants were rolled out

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53?There is usually no alcohol at parties with children present and copious amounts at those without

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53-54?family event … It’s almost always the women of the home who have prepared everything

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54?women’s associations … a venue for female friendship

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71?there is virtually no stigma surrounding single or young mothers

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72?to quote former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau … “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”

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74?“My mom is so strict … When I bring home a guy for the night, she insists that I introduce him to her the next morning.”

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81?Iceland has a well-deserved reputation as a leader in queer rights

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88-89?People who are registered as gender-neutral can choose a gender-neutral name ending in –bur (“descendent”)

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91?minor amendments to my wording can have a more major impact on others

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96?To say that sexual harassment in the workplace does not exist in Iceland would be disingenuous

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97?Iceland topped the Economist’s glass-ceiling index in 2020 … But … we focus on the outstanding challenges

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98?Men generally seem to be in agreement with the concept and recognize overall that increased gender and ethnic diversity increases the bottom line

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98?[footnote]?a 2020 McKinsey & Company report revealed that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above average profitability

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98-99?In 2010, the … volcano, Eyjafjallaj?kull … caused the worst disruption to European air traffic since the Second World War … Thanks to that unplanned event … visitors flocked to the island

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101?“Even in Iceland, there is a difference between being a male or a female entrepreneur,” Ragnhildur [ágústsdóttir] … Women and men alike bear a responsibility to work toward diminishing that double standard … role models are of vital importance

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103?corner office-level gender ratios … are the result of legislation that has been created to nudge diversity in the right direction

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106?[Gudbj?rg Heida Gudmundsdóttir]?“When you get the power, you have to dare to change things … I sent all seven hundred employees here on gender awareness training, anti-bullying training.?I hired more female engineers.”

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106?women too need the opportunity to build professional networks

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107-108?The Association of Women Business Leaders (FKA) … also commissions studies and research into gender balance in corporations and offers an annual award to companies, municipalities, and public organizations that have at least a 60/40 gender balance in their senior management … The awards have an influence on shaping policy within companies that are seeking to boost their reputations as socially responsible organizations, not to mention their bottom line by attracting the best talent of all genders

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109?extensive geothermal resources … naturally hot water … heats almost all the nation’s homes and many of its outdoor swimming pools, greenhouses, and fish farms.?Combined with extensive usage of hydroelectric power, this means almost all of the country’s heating and electricity are provided by renewable energy sources

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111?[Fida Abu Libdeh]?“… In the eyes of people abroad … I’m an Icelander.?Here in Iceland, I’m seen as a foreigner.”?… immigrant

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112?investment … funding … Equality won’t come until women get the money

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114?Ragnhildur, Gudbj?rg, and Fida … none of these women identified any complications in their personal lives as major hindrances to success in their professional lives

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115-116?We must see more women in decision-making roles within companies and in charge of allocating loans and funds to new enterprises … the male-dominated corporate world could do with further injections of male allies to the equality issue … gender equality will make things better for men too

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119?“there lies the buried dog” or the crux of the matter

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125-126?Icelandic news headlines and photo captions that neglect to name women … how do we tackle the misogynistic silencing culture … ?

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142?research shows us that the acute global climate crisis disproportionately affects women around the globe

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144?Heida Gudny ásgeirsdóttir … farm … “We need nature, but nature doesn’t need us,”

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162?our awareness of the inequalities has led to improvements in the status quo … sports … soccer

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163?blind is the bookless man

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173?sports … one of the last global bastions of acceptable sexism … Margrét Lára [Vidarsdóttir]

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176-177?The Daughters of Reykjavík … rappers … There is a lot of lip service paid to the importance of equality … but it’s hard to see it in practice

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186?When this island was settled in the late ninth century, there was no indigenous population to displace or exploit

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187?canned pumpkin, an elusive treat ?

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188?we all still make snap, unconscious judgements about those with “foreign” names, and people of color are subject to racial microaggressions on a daily basis

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188?A 2020 Gallup survey ranked Icelanders’ tolerances to immigrants at 8.41 (out of a maximum of 9), second only to my home country, Canada, in the global rankings

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189?Immigrant women in Iceland are more likely to be overqualified for the jobs they find than immigrant men and are more likely to work long shifts than locally born women

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194?[Monserrat Arlette Moreno]?“if you want to move to a remote place, you really have to take care of your mental health …”

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197?Claudia [Ashanie Wilson] … became the first foreign-born woman to pass the bar exam in Iceland

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200?Domestic abuse can and does happen to anyone, irrespective of education, background, neighborhood, class … the increasing reports of domestic violence remain a black spot in a nation that prides itself on gender equality

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201?Foreign-born women in Iceland are affected disproportionately by domestic violence

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203?“trust that your future self can deal with it.”

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206?Vigdís Finnbogadóttir … the world’s first democratically elected female head of state, and she would hold the office for sixteen years, still the longest term for any elected female head of state

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207?Vigdís … acted as a unifying figure more than one with a dogma to promote

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208?“Can boys be presidents too?”

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210?We can all be role models

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220?[íris Róbertsdóttir] ... “… it’s been an advantage that people have sometimes underestimated me.”

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221?íris … “… women everywhere are second-guessing themselves …”

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224?Isabel [Alejandra Díaz] … “… What’s the worst that can happen? …”

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225?Anyone … can register to take courses at the University of Iceland … There is no tuition aside from an annual 75,000 krónur (about US$550) administration fee

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226?Isabel … “… In the end, everything is political.”

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229?Klaustur-gate … a festering sore that reminds Icelandic society in stark ways that this country is no gender paradise

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231?Jordan … the massive Zaatari refugee camp, the world’s second largest … almost eighty thousand refugees of Syria’s bloody civil war

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235?2020 … legislation … above-inflation wage increases for all the country’s lowest wage earners

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237?To achieve gender equality, we cannot leave anyone behind, including immigrant women, women of color, women with disabilities, and queer women.?We need to work with the many male allies

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238?the importance of friendships and support in helping us learn to venture outside our comfort zones

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239?Role models are perhaps the single most crucial component of this great recipe for equality – or at least the largest

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241?I am not going to change the world on a large scale.?But I can do my part to nudge things in the right direction

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246?[footnote]?The 2021 Global Gender Gap Index quantified this in its findings that the pandemic had increased the time predicted to close the gender gap by an additional generation, or thirty-six years

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247?There are extraordinary women everywhere … Equality is my right.?It’s yours too?