Press

The law, which is set to become a world first, aims to close the wage gap between men and women. Companies face auditing and possible fines if they do not comply. Iceland was ranked first in the World Economic Forum's 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden. However, according to Iceland's statistics for the same year, the unadjusted gender pay gap remained at 17%. The bill is supported by the centre-right coalition government as well as the opposition. Applying to both the public and private sector, it would prohibit any discrimination not just on gender, but also on race, religion, disability, occupational disability, age and sexual orientation grounds. The bill will now be subject to a series of debates, and if it passes, it will take effect from January 2018. (BBC News)