March event: “The Day Iceland Stood Still”

Posted by Bryony Hobden

30 March 2026

Women in Climate film screening event 
“The Day Iceland Stood Still” 
March 6, 2026  

For our March women in climate event, and in light of International Women’s Day on March 8^th, we watched “The Day Iceland Stood Still”. The documentary tells the story of 24th October 1975, when 90% of women in Iceland went on strike, leaving their jobs and homes to fight for gender equality. Only a few years later, Iceland became the first country in the world to elect a female president and is to this day considered a global leader in gender equality.  The amazing Icelandic landscape was beautifully weaved into the story. It was a pleasure to hear from the women who organised the strike. We gained many insights into their experience, their upbringing and passion for equality.

After the movie, we stayed on for a discussion about the film. Some initial reactions included that the film was inspiring and moving, and also that we were surprised that we hadn’t been aware of the strike in Iceland before watching the film. We discussed how far society has come since the 70’s and that there is still a way to go to reach gender equality, with the gaps varying a lot between countries. For example, childcare and household responsibilities are still not divided evenly among genders, and women still typically take a larger share of the parental leave. We were wondering how long it will take to reach gender equality and what measures might help to move society in that direction. We also wondered whether the protests in Iceland had international impacts and whether there had been any negative impacts on some of the participants in the strikes. Finally, it was really interesting to see that even though the strike was planned several months in advance, it still came as such a shock to Iceland’s society, with shops, theatres and schools remaining closed and men suddenly in charge of cooking and taking care of their children. Overall, it was really inspiring to see the strong sense of community and such a powerful grassroots movement.