Why Do Men Earn More Than Women? Iceland Makes Businesses Prove Equal Pay

Iceland could become the first country in the world to require companies to offer proof their male and female employees were receiving equal pay. The proposed legislation would be the strongest measures any country has taken to address the gender pay gap to date.

A bill was introduced in Iceland's parliament on Tuesday that would require companies with more than 24 employees to secure government certification of their payment schemes. Companies could face auditing and fines if they fail to comply with the new pay disclosure requirements. The bill would retroactively apply to the beginning of this year, the Guardian reported. It's also expected to pass, as it has the support of both the center-right government and the opposition, the BBC said.

Read: Men Better Than Women? Females Are 'Less Intelligent' And 'Must Earn Less,' Polish Lawmaker Says During Gender Pay Gap Debate

Iceland was already considered one of the best countries in the world for gender equality. The island nation of just 330,000 people ranked number one on the World Economic Forum's 2015 Gender Gap Rankings, ahead of Norway, Finland and Sweden (the U.S. was ranked 28th, ahead of Cuba and behind Mozambique). After October's parliamentary elections, women comprise 48 percent of the country's lawmakers, the highest percentage in any major legislative body in the world achieved without the use of a quota system.

But even in a country that was leading the globe in multiple measures of female empowerment, the gender wage gap persists, in spite of half a century of equal pay laws and voluntary measures taken by companies. According to government statistics, Icelandic women still earn 17 percent less than their male counterparts.

“The gender pay gap is unfortunately a fact in the Icelandic labor market and it’s time take radical measures; we have the knowledge and the processes to eliminate it,” Thorsteinn Viglundsson, minister of social affairs and equality said.

Despite Iceland's persistent efforts achieve equal pay for both genders, the 17 percent pay gap is exactly the same as the gender pay gap in the U.S., according to a Pew Research poll released this week.