Women no doubt have contributed in no small measure towards a much more prosperous world, but although these contributions have impacted lives in numerous ways, due recognition and freedom have not been accorded to the womenfolk. Hence, the discord of gender equality prevalent still holds today, regardless of race.
Mirroring society, the labor market has been host to discriminatory practises against women from time immemorial, but even though efforts have been made to bring to light equal value by both sexes in the work environment, gender pay gap still persists.
Leading efforts and taking a bold revolutionary step in a move towards bridging the gender divide and empowerment of women, preaching equal pay for men and women, on June 1st 2017, Alþingi, the Icelandic Parliament, passed a law mandating that equal pay in Iceland through the IEPS mandatory policy, which came into effect January 2018.
Through the Equal Wage Management Standard, IEPS, the system ensures both sexes working for the same employer are paid equal wages for equal valuem.
Thus Iceland became the first country in the world to require that companies and institutions with more than twenty-five employees employed full-time with contracts of at least a year prove that they pay men and women equally for the same job by obtaining certification from the centralized IEPS system for their equal-pay system.
Progressive countries like Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden have earned high praise for according both sexes equal legal rights.
