” I am strong ! I am brave ! I am powerful! » Encouraged by their mistress, the little kindergarten students shout these words, while throwing logs. They occupy half of the courtyard, the other being reserved for the boys – which prevents the latter from monopolizing the entire central space and relegating the girls to the corners, as in most schools. From football to dolls, whether cataloged as masculine or feminine, the games are played here indiscriminately by all children.
This Icelandic school applies the Hjalli educational model, like sixteen others in the country. Recently broadcast on France 24, a documentary by journalist Mélina Huet reveals how these establishments strive not to confine children to gender stereotypes. Margret Pala Olafsdottir, the pedagogue who developed this method, was decorated by the government for her contribution to building a more equal society.
In fact, Iceland breaks almost all records in this area. For more than ten years, it has been at the top of the World Economic Forum’s gender equality ranking. Its Parliament is the most feminine in Europe, with 47.6% elected. The employment rate of Icelandic women is very high (77.5% in 2021, compared to 67.5% in the euro zone), and parental leave is taken almost equally between the two parents.
Binding laws
But what is the secret of the volcanic island? Every year, as International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, all eyes turn to Iceland in an attempt to crack it. “A lot of factors come into play”enlightens Eliza Reid, its first lady, who precisely publishes the book on the question The Secrets of the Sprakkar. These women who change the world (Michel Lafon, 288 pages, 19.95 euros). “The main one is the widely shared awareness that working towards greater equality benefits everyone. That it is not for women at the expense of men, but a decisive step forward in building a better society for all who live in it. »
In Iceland, this awareness is old and is probably due in part to the small number of inhabitants (370,000), which is relatively homogeneous. But not only. Its laws are also much more restrictive than elsewhere. Since 2018, Icelandic companies with more than 25 employees, such as administrations, have indeed been forced to respect a standard of equal pay for equal work. An independent body verifies that they meet the criteria defined by law and grants them certification, to be renewed every three years. Those who do not respect them incur a fine of 50,000 crowns (330 euros) per day, at most. A much more effective system than the Pénicaud index in force in France, little controlled and easily bypassed.
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