Taking the platform of Women Economic Forum, the Ambassador of Iceland, Thorir Ibsen shared his insight about the gender equality and business relationship between India and Iceland. “Iceland is everything, Iceland means business” exclaims the energetic Ambassador.
Though the population and size of Iceland are marginally small, Iceland was the most peaceful country, the top travel destination, the third happiest country in the world in 2016 and has the lowest gender gap. They take pride in their use of sustainable consumption of natural resources, the wide scale of exportation and the massive investment on renewable resources.
The numerous business opportunities in Iceland vary from tourism, medical devices to the large scale production of Bollywood and Hollywood movies and series. The natural, diverse environment serves as the production studio for many directors. Ibsen with his amusing accent cited ‘Diwale’ and the infamous ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Interstellar’.
Iceland implements low corporate tax that invites many entrepreneurs to invest in the open market economy of Iceland. It is also an essential tourist destination and consequently, tourism is a major source of income for the Iceland economy. “More than one and half million tourists travel to Iceland every year and there has been a 50 per cent yearly increase of tourists from India,” Ibsen shares. The travelers come for the clean air, pure water, mesmerising landscape and unspoilt nature.
The Ambassador also emphasised on the need of the hour, the need for gender equality in the economy. He proudly shares the contemporary statistics of women engagement in the Iceland economy. “47.3 per cent of the labour force is constituted by women. Their participation in the labour market is close to 80 per cent. Women hold positions in parliaments, courts, government cabinet, private corporation,” states Ibsen. He acknowledges the need for women empowerment and gender equality.
“Boys are becoming lazy!” exclaims Ibsen, “Boys are performing less in schools, including primary schools. It is not because of women but due to internal problems in the institution of education.”
“It is essential to change the mindset of the community in order to promote gender equality,” Ibsen states.
The key tools involve effective rights legislation and public equal rights agency, open, accessible and gender responsive universal public health care services and education system and also, gender quotas in political parties and boards of public and private holding companies.
India and other countries have a lot to learn from Iceland when it comes to the pertaining gender gap in the professional workforce and the social web attached to it. Iceland is a place not only to invest in but also to acquire proficiency from.
