<p>Icelandic women went on a 24-hour strike on Tuesday over gender inequality, including the prime minister, who said the fight for equal treatment was moving far too slowly at home and abroad.</p><p>Across the small island nation, schools and libraries were either closed or operated on limited hours as female staff stayed home, while hospitals said they would only handle emergency cases.</p><p>Joining the protest, Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said she would not come to work on Tuesday.</p><p>"Looking at the whole world, it could take 300 years to achieve gender equality," Jakobsdottir told the Ras 1 public radio station.</p>.Why the BBMP needs a gender cell .<p>The strike was called to protest against gaps in pay when compared to men and against gender-based violence, and to highlight the unpaid work such as such as child care that most often falls on women, organisers said.</p><p>Iceland is regarded as one of the world's most progressive countries in terms of gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forum's gender gap index 14 years in a row.</p><p>But in some industries and professions, women earn at least 20 per cent less than Icelandic men, according to Statistics Iceland.</p><p>Forty percent of Icelandic women experience gender-based and sexual violence in their lifetime, a University of Iceland study found.</p><p>"We're seeking to bring attention to the fact that we're called an equality paradise, but there are still gender disparities and urgent need for action," said Freyja Steingrimsdottir, a strike organiser and the communications director for the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers.</p><p>Tuesday's strike, under the slogan "Do you call this equality?", comprising Icelandic women and non-binary individuals, was the first full-day strike since an inaugural women's protest in 1975.</p><p>"Female-led professions such as healthcare services and childcare are still undervalued and much lower paid," Steingrimsdottir told Reuters on Monday.</p>
<p>Icelandic women went on a 24-hour strike on Tuesday over gender inequality, including the prime minister, who said the fight for equal treatment was moving far too slowly at home and abroad.</p><p>Across the small island nation, schools and libraries were either closed or operated on limited hours as female staff stayed home, while hospitals said they would only handle emergency cases.</p><p>Joining the protest, Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said she would not come to work on Tuesday.</p><p>"Looking at the whole world, it could take 300 years to achieve gender equality," Jakobsdottir told the Ras 1 public radio station.</p>.Why the BBMP needs a gender cell .<p>The strike was called to protest against gaps in pay when compared to men and against gender-based violence, and to highlight the unpaid work such as such as child care that most often falls on women, organisers said.</p><p>Iceland is regarded as one of the world's most progressive countries in terms of gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forum's gender gap index 14 years in a row.</p><p>But in some industries and professions, women earn at least 20 per cent less than Icelandic men, according to Statistics Iceland.</p><p>Forty percent of Icelandic women experience gender-based and sexual violence in their lifetime, a University of Iceland study found.</p><p>"We're seeking to bring attention to the fact that we're called an equality paradise, but there are still gender disparities and urgent need for action," said Freyja Steingrimsdottir, a strike organiser and the communications director for the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers.</p><p>Tuesday's strike, under the slogan "Do you call this equality?", comprising Icelandic women and non-binary individuals, was the first full-day strike since an inaugural women's protest in 1975.</p><p>"Female-led professions such as healthcare services and childcare are still undervalued and much lower paid," Steingrimsdottir told Reuters on Monday.</p>