Its now illegal to pay men more than women in Iceland - Nordic countries continue to lead the way on Gender Equality

Its now illegal to pay men more than women in Iceland - Nordic countries continue to lead the way on Gender Equality On January 1st, Iceland became the first country in the World to make it illegal to pay women less than men. Already a recognised by the  World Economic Forum (WEF)  as the World leader for gender equality for nine consecutive years, Icelands new law will apply to all organisations employing 25 or more people. Iceland has been working to close the gender pay gap for a number of years, and on International Womens Day in March 2017, then prime minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, announced the proposed legislation. The move has been welcomed by global leaders, with many commentators noting that the new equal pay law is an inevitable result of Iceland achieving almost 50% female representation in Parliament in 2016, and electing Katrin Jakobsdottir as Prime Minister in November 2017.    Miss Jakobsdottir is Icelands second female prime minister, and active environmentalist and feminist. Nordic countries lead the way with gender parity, with  Norway, Finland and Sweden joining Iceland to be ranked by WEF as four out of the top 5 performing countries, based on  as economic opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.   New Zealand ranks respectably in 9th place, and Australia lags in 35th place, behind a number of developing countries. Its not just equal pay where Nordic countries are leading the way.   Sweden is known for its generous and uniquely structured state parental-leave policy, which allocates 480 days of paid parental leave for each couple welcoming a new child, with 90 of those days being allocated to the Dad on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. Designed to encourage more men to take on a primary or shared care role in raising the family, the policy is credited with transforming national attitudes to gender and childcare, with  men in Sweden now taking 25% of allocated parental leave benefit, compared to 0.5% in the 1970s. Photo from Swedish Dads by Johan Bävman Sweden’s commitment to parental leave has made it an international leader  when it comes to workplace gender equality, however more men still need to take the opportunity offered by the policy, to adopt an equal role in raising their children. We were lucky enough to be invited to the opening of Swedish Photographer Johan Bavmans celebrated Swedish Dads  exhibition, which visited Sydney recently. Bavman through his photography, documented the journeys of that fathers who had chosen to stay at home to raise their children, with the intention of persuading more dads to do the same, he writes; There are two aims to this project.  The first is to describe the  background  to Sweden’s unique parental  allowance. The second is to inspire  other fathers â€" in Sweden, and further  afield â€" to consider the positive  benefits of such a system. Other countries that offer generous, non-transferable paid paternal leave include Portugal, Belgium, Iceland and France.    Is it time to rug-up, grab the thermals and head North? What are your thoughts on Iceland and Swedens policies supporting gender equality, and why is it Australia particularly is lagging so far behind?