How to close the gender gap in economic participation and opportunity.
Gender inequality is a global phenomenon as the United Nations’ Global Sustainable Development Goal of women’s full participation in decision making reflects. Iceland is a leader in gender equality, yet it has not succeeded in closing the gender gap in economic participation.
The first aim of this research is to identify approaches that can close the gender gap at the executive level by exploring the views of key stakeholders towards gender equality approaches, focusing on the role of legislation. Second, to explore the impact of Equal Pay Certification (EPC) legislation on gender pay gaps, as Iceland is in a unique position to eliminate gender pay gaps having enacted the world’s first EPC legislation. Since the debate and implementation of board gender quotas takes place mainly in Europe but only recently in the US, the third aim is to create a gender equality database and compare the impact of gender equality interventions in Nordic and Baltic countries and selected US states. The impact lies in the identification of tangible approaches toward closing the economic gender gap; the exploration of effects and interactions of equal pay standards; gender quota legislation and policies; gender balance in corporate leadership; and gender lens investing. A key outcome is the development and expansion of a transparent platform to gauge the impact of gender balance in corporate leadership on financial performance, sustainability and environmental indicators, applicable to companies worldwide.
