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Their Jobs Haven’t Changed, But Iceland’s Women Are Getting Raises

Months into new equal-pay law, companies in the island nation are already fixing the gap

relates to Their Jobs Haven’t Changed, But Iceland’s Women Are Getting Raises

Photographer: Tim Wright/Getty Images

It’s been six months since Iceland made it impossible for businesses to keep paying women less than men for the same job, and Gudridur Gudmundsdottir is already a little richer for it.

A part-time chef at Iceland’s National Land Survey, the 58-year-old grandmother got a 4.5 percent wage increase, equal to $80 a month, after her bosses found she was underpaid relative to a group of colleagues.