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%

Brecha salarial de género no ajustada (2023–24)

~12.7%

Brecha salarial de género media en la UE (comparación)

#1 for 15 consecutive years

Posición en el Índice Global de Brecha de Género del FEM

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

Islandia modificó su Ley de Igualdad de Género en 2017 (en vigor desde enero de 2018), exigiendo a todos los empleadores con 25 o más trabajadores obtener la certificación de igualdad salarial según la norma ÍST 85 — la primera certificación de igualdad salarial legalmente obligatoria del mundo. La certificación se basa en una evaluación de puestos que disocia las tareas de quienes las ocupan, es válida durante tres años y la supervisa la Dirección de Igualdad (Jafnréttisstofa).

Results

La brecha salarial de género no ajustada de Islandia se situó en 9,3–10,4% en 2023–24, por debajo de la media de la UE de aproximadamente 12,7%, y el país encabeza el Índice Global de Brecha de Género del FEM durante 15 años consecutivos. Una evaluación revisada por pares (Social Politics, 2022) halló que la norma reduce el sesgo en la clasificación de puestos, aunque la atribución de resultados específicamente a la ley sigue siendo limitada.

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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