The list of gender equality legislation in Iceland includes gender-based quotas for boards of directors, equal leave for parents, and the recent equal pay act. Despite this, Icelandic workplaces, especially the hierarchical power structures in them, continue to be highly gendered (Axelsdóttir & Halrynjo, 2018; Steinþórsdóttir, Brorsen Smidt, Pétursdóttir, Einarsdóttir, & Le Feuvre, 2018; Steinórsdóttir, Heijstra, & Eindarsdóttir, 2018). The norms for leadership in work are still what are often thought of as masculine traits (Atwater, Brett, Waldman, DiMare, & Hayden, 2004). Migrant women enter this gendered structure with the dual disadvantage of being female and foreign. As such, they are open to workplace violence in unique and vulnerable ways (Bauer & Ramírez, 2010; Fitzgerald, 1993; Vartia & Giorgiani, 2008). This became clear in January of 2018, when stories of interpersonal violence and workplace violence were published in Kjarninn (Júlíuson, 2018). Immigrant women told of facing workplace harassment ranging from microscopic oversight of their work to verbal and physical sexual abuse. The abuse was both overtly and covertly connected to their immigrant status and examples included not being trusted with money, being called an immigrant whore and being told that there would be no pay without sitting on the boss’ lap. Other stories include working for no pay and fending off the sexual advances of a supervisor. How do these narratives square with the political will towards equality in the workplace as shown in Icelandic legislation? Answering this question requires wrestling with the aura of gender equality (Péttursdóttir, 2010) or Nordic paradox (Garcia & Merlo, 2016) to broaden these concepts to include issues of intersectionality, such as immigration status. This paper addresses the almost complete lack of Icelandic and Nordic literature and understanding of the unique position immigrant women hold in the economy. It looks to literatures from Great Britain, Canada, and the USA to suggest ways in which Iceland and the other Nordic countries can better deal with intersectionality in research and legislation. This research is part of of IWEV: Immigrant Women’s Experiences of Employment- and Intimate Partner-Based Violence.

Randi W. Stebbins, J.D., has over 10 years of experience working with at-risk communities on social justice dispute resolution, humanitarian law, and immigrant rights. She is currently the Director of the Writing Centre at the University of Iceland School of Education and a teacher in the UNU – GEST program, a founding member of Ós Pressan and a volunteer peer counselor with W.O.M.E.N.

Brynja E. Halldórsdóttir, Assitant Professor, University of Iceland School of Education, brynhall@hi.is
Jón Ingvar Kjaran, Associate Professor, University of Iceland School of Education, jik@hi.is
Susan E. Gollifer, Adjunct Professor, University of Iceland School of Education, sueg@hi.is