Good practice

Iceland Equal Pay Certification Standard (ÍST 85) — Mandatory Equal-Pay Law 2018

Iceland · Reykjavík · See the Iceland profile

Iceland's 2018 law made it the world's first country to require all employers with 25+ workers to certify gender-equal pay under standard ÍST 85. Non-compliant firms face fines. Pay audits must be renewed every three years.

9.3–10.4%

Unadjusted gender pay gap (2023–24)

~12.7%

EU average gender pay gap (comparison)

#1 for 15 consecutive years

WEF Global Gender Gap Index ranking

Iceland Equal Pay Certification Standard (ÍST 85) — Mandatory Equal-Pay Law 2018

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Directorate of Equality (Jafnréttisstofa) / Government of Iceland
Period: 2018–present
Keywords: equal pay, pay certification, gender pay gap, employment law, wage transparency

Context

Iceland amended its Gender Equality Act in 2017 (in force January 2018) to require all employers with 25 or more staff to obtain equal-pay certification under standard ÍST 85 — the world's first legally mandated equal-pay certification. Certification uses a job evaluation dissociating tasks from incumbents, is valid three years, and is monitored by the Directorate of Equality (Jafnréttisstofa).

Results

Iceland's unadjusted gender pay gap stood at 9.3–10.4% in 2023–24, below the EU average of about 12.7%, and the country has topped the WEF Global Gender Gap Index for 15 consecutive years. A peer-reviewed evaluation (Social Politics, 2022) found the standard de-biases job classification, though outcome attribution to the law specifically remains limited.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-20
Directorate of Equality (Jafnréttisstofa) / Government of Iceland — accessed 2026-06-20
Kvenréttindafélag Íslands — Equal Pay Standard resource — accessed 2026-06-20
Academic evaluation: Social Politics, Oxford University Press (2022) — accessed 2026-06-20
PayAnalytics — Iceland Equal Pay Law overview — accessed 2026-06-20

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 100/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 1% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability3/3

ÍST 85 was explicitly designed to ISO specifications and has been cited or adapted by Canada, other Nordic countries and the EU Commission as an international model.

Impact on gender equality1/1

Iceland's pay gap (9.3–10.4%) is below the EU average (~12.7%) and the country has led the WEF Global Gender Gap Index for 15 consecutive years; the certification directly targets the pay component.

Effectiveness1/1

All employers with 25+ staff must be certified every three years; the Directorate of Equality maintains a public register and refers non-compliant firms to the Equality Complaints Committee.

Efficiency1/1

Certification leverages an ISO-aligned standard with third-party auditors, adding modest administrative cost while creating a systematic, auditable equal-pay process.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

Peer-reviewed evaluation published in Social Politics (Oxford University Press, 2022) assessed implementation quality and effects on pay classification practices.

Sustainability1/1

The requirement is embedded in the Gender Equality Act and applies continuously; recertification is due every three years with regulatory consequences for non-compliance.

Achievement / evidence1/1

Iceland holds the world's #1 ranking on the WEF Global Gender Gap Index; its pay gap is consistently below EU averages; the certification register is publicly maintained.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Gender-equal pay is mandated by law as a structural employer obligation, not a voluntary initiative, embedding pay equity in routine management systems.

Curator validation1/1

Sources include the Icelandic Women's Rights Association equal pay resource, an Oxford Academic peer-reviewed evaluation, and a specialist pay-equity analysis by PayAnalytics.

Cite this

Evidoria. Iceland Equal Pay Certification Standard (ÍST 85) — Mandatory Equal-Pay Law 2018. Persistent ID: 8102a697-dc62-42fa-a69f-4f04ec2cb0c7.

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