A woman working at a home for the disabled earns ISK 136,000 a month. A woman working at a daycare center earns ISK 125,000 a month. A woman working at a senior citizen housing center has a base salary of ISK 116,000 per month. Television station Stöd 2 reports that these are, before tax, monthly salaries of women in low wage jobs.
Icelandic women protested wage discrepancy at the Woman’s Day Off celebration on Monday; some holding “Women are not on sale” signs.
According to Stöd 2 low wage jobs such as at daycare centers and senior citizen homes are traditionally staffed by women.
According to 2004 figures from the Institute of Labour Market Research, the average monthly salary for men is ISK 296,300, while the average salary for women is ISK 223,800. Men work on average two hours longer per week than women but are paid on average ISK 70,000 more per month.
