The End of Iceland's Innocence: The Image of Iceland in the Foreign Media during the Financial Crisis

Gender Issues—Women: The Antidote to the Crisis

– 129 – GENDER ISSUES WOMEN: THE ANTIDOTE TO THE CRISIS ‘Icelandic women will clean up the young men’s mess.’ Financial Times, October 14, 20081 As the first signs of the crisis appeared, the dominant nationalistic discourse of the new Vikings gave way to the voices of Icelandic women, who are represented in the media as those who had come to the aid of their country and its economy. Iceland is known for its egalitarian values, and the crisis was an opportunity for the country to reveal the scope of its convictions; yet, at the same time, a deep gender divide in its society came to light. According to reports by foreign newspapers, the women who emerged were not looking to follow in the footsteps of their male predecessors. On the contrary, they are shown as having made a clean sweep, completely replacing the male-dominated culture with one defined as female. These issues were of very keen interest to the French and Québec press, much to the delight of the women’s movement in Iceland. The English-language press, however, took a more divided stance, with some media finding gender issues out of place in a context of financial turbulence affecting society as a whole. The crisis was both an awakening and an opportunity for Icelandic feminists. After interviewing former journalist Björg Björnsdóttir, Nicolas Delesalle of Télérama describes the revelation that the events of fall 2008 prompted: On the morning of the crisis, Björg woke up a feminist: ‘It was men who brought this country to its knees. Now 1 Sarah O’Connor, ‘Icelandic women will clean up the “young men’s mess”’, Financial Times, October 14, 2008, p. 6. – 130 – it’s time for women. They’re more aware of the risks and take more time to think; these are the values that must guide us’.2 Her statement reflects the sentiments of other feminists elsewhere in the world. In a letter to the editor of the Financial Times, Lamia Walker , Director of the London Centre for Women in Business, stated that the crisis in Iceland has enabled women to attain certain key positions for the first time and has potentially meant significant strides for them: ‘organisations have an opportunity right now to capture the movement in social change by appointing qualified women to key positions’.3 A number of women now hold high-ranking positions in the country. The appointments of Birna Einarsdóttir to the new Glitnir bank (renamed Íslandsbanki on February 20, 2009), of Elín Sigfúsdóttir to the new administration of Landsbanki and of Lára V. Júlíusdóttir as chair of the board of the Central Bank of Iceland, as well as the election of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir as Prime Minister, have signalled a significant change in Iceland’s leadership. For Sarah O’Connor of the Financial Times, this change represents a huge clean-up after the disaster created by men. In October 2008, she wrote: Many have also criticised the young and predominantly male bankers whose ‘eyes became bigger than their stomachs’. ‘Now the women are taking over’, said one government official. ‘It’s typical, the men make the mess and the women clean it up.’4 2 Björg Björnsdóttir, quoted by Nicolas Delesalle, ‘Les révoltés du geyser’, Télérama, no. 3086, March 8, 2009. The original quote read: ‘Au matin de la crise, Björg s’est réveillée féministe : « Ce sont les hommes qui ont mis ce pays à genoux. Maintenant, c’est l’heure des femmes. Elles ont une plus grande conscience des risques, réfléchissent davantage, ce sont ces valeurs-là qui doivent nous guider’. 3 Lamia Walker, ‘Crisis gives women a shot at top corporate jobs’, Financial Times, October 18, 2008, p. 6. 4 Sarah O’Connor, ‘Icelandic women will clean up the “young men’s mess”’, Financial Times, October 14, 2008, p. 6. – 131 – For many, the time had come to reject the values that had guided the new Vikings (and men in general) and to adopt a new, more sensible and balanced approach to management. Men were harshly criticised from all quarters. A member of the Reykjavík City Council, who found the country’s former male role model worrisome and inappropriate , was quoted by the Globe and Mail as follows: ‘“They talk...