Iceland

THE BEST PLACE TO BE A WOMAN
link to THE GUARDIAN article


Iceland is on my top 5 places in the world to travel to, and this just adds to it's lure. In a country of only 330,000 people, there are 19 primary schools designed to teach girls how to have a voice. Whether direct impact or an influence on the outcome, these schools may have a lot to do with the status of women today in Iceland. The first primary schools began 20 years ago and for the last six years Iceland has "topped the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index".  (Hertz, 2016)

In 1970 tens of thousands of women protested for equal rights in Manhattan and the UK. Five years later 25,000 women in Iceland protested for women's rights in the work force on October 24, 1975. What is so shocking about this is that this accounted for one in every five women in Iceland and 90% of the female workforce went on strike, and boy were they successful! In 1980 Iceland elected Vigdis Finnbogadottir as the World's first democratically elected president.  (Hertz, 2016)

Coming full circle, Iceland teaches girls from a young age how to be confident and strong. When these girls grow up they have the knowledge, opportunity, and drive to be successful in what ever field they choose. Unfortunately not every economy is stable enough or developed enough to give boys and girls this opportunity, but this example provides hope for each country to advance and more provide equal opportunity.

Bibliography

Hertz, N. (2016). Why Iceland is the best place in the world to be a woman. The Guardian.