Women in Parliaments (WIP) Global Forum 2013

ADDRESS by Eygló Harðardóttir, Minister of Social Affairs and Housing

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to be here to accept, on behalf of Iceland, the award being presented today.

Women's rights are human rights, and no nation can lay claim to being a complete and unified nation unless its women and men enjoy, on an equal basis, all the rights and opportunities that society offers.

As we all know, the position of women varies very greatly from country to country. There are many reasons for gender-based discrimination – and its roots sometimes lie deep and are difficult to get at. All this we know, but we also know that with untiring work, a strong will and faith in our cause, we can move mountains and sweep all obstacles aside.

Gender equality is an important prerequisite for economic progress and national prosperity. Studies show that women's empowerment and gender equality contribute to higher productivity, strengthen social institutions and lay the foundation for a better future for coming generations.

Any nation that fails to guarantee its women the same rights as men have to education, participation in employment, political activity and access to economic prosperity – any nation that keeps its women down by denying them independence and self-determination and holds them back from participating fully in their communities and exerting an influence on society – such a nation shackles itself and undermines its chances of growing and developing in the future.

The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was passed in 1979 following the World Conference of the first UN International Women's Year in Mexico City in 1975. The Convention recognised that progress in human rights and greater gender equality could be achieved by making these issues part of development work. Another milestone was passed with the platform for action on gender equality and women's empowerment that was approved at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. I should also mention the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals of 2000, which cover various fundamental goals in cooperation on international development. These present a firm vision of the importance of gender equality and women's empowerment and a recognition that these are key factors in making it possible to achieve the millennium goals.

As I said at the outset, I am genuinely proud to accept, on Iceland's behalf, the award for the best national achievement in the field of gender equality. But this award does not mean that our task is completed. Rather, it is an encouragement to do even more to promote women's participation in all areas of the community, to enhance women's influence in business and politics and to eradicate gender-based wage discrimination.

We must remember that Iceland's achievements, and those of the other Nordic countries, in gender equality have not come about of their own accord. They are the result of more than 100 years of tireless campaigning on the part of women for their basic human rights.

In the hundred years that have passed since women first acquired the right to vote and to stand for election on the same footing as men, we have reached the point where women account for between 38 and 45 per cent of elected representatives in the Nordic legislative assemblies. We know from experience that we must stay on our guard to prevent a turnaround in the trend regarding women's involvement in politics. We want to achieve an even greater balance between men and women in politics and we want to share what we have learned with women elsewhere in the world, in communities that cannot afford to wait as long as we did – more than 100 years – for political equality. But we should rejoice over the many small victories and steps that have brought us to where we are.

It is a pleasure, and a matter of great importance, for Iceland to have achieved this position in the international community – to be a nation that enjoys the respect of others for ensuring its women human rights which should be taken for granted – but which, unfortunately, are far from being taken for granted in so many parts of the world.

I regard this award not only as a token of recognition, but also as a reminder of our responsibilities. I hope that Iceland will be able to make its contribution to international collaboration and play an active role in the important challenge that we all face to improve the position of women and advance the cause of gender equality everywhere in the world.