Ministry corrects gender balance on Equality Fund board

Iceland’s Ministry of Justice has changed the composition of the Equality Fund board after concerns were raised about its gender balance, mbl.is reports. Tryggvi Hallgrimsson, an expert at the Centre for Gender Equality, will replace the centre’s executive director, Martha Lilja Olsen, as a full member. Olsen will become an alternate.

The change follows the appointment of Jarþrúður Ásmundsdóttir as the fund’s chair. The three full members had been women, while all three alternates were men.

The law on equal status and equal rights for women and men says appointments to state and municipal committees, councils and boards should aim for an equal proportion of women and men. It also sets a minimum of 40 per cent for each gender when there are more than three representatives.

The minister responsible for equality appoints the fund’s board. One member is nominated by the university sector’s cooperation committee, one by the Centre for Gender Equality, and the chair is appointed without a nomination. Alternates are appointed in the same way.