Future Timeline

Four day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland

1 hour ago

Trials of a four-day week in Iceland were an "overwhelming success" and led to many workers moving to shorter hours, researchers have said.

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Productivity remained the same or improved in the majority of workplaces, researchers said.

[...]

In Iceland, the trials run by Reykjavík City Council and the national government eventually included more than 2,500 workers, which amounts to about 1% of Iceland's working population.

Many of them moved from a 40 hour week to a 35 or 36 hour week, researchers from UK think tank Autonomy and the Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda) in Iceland said.

The trials led unions to renegotiate working patterns, and now 86% of Iceland's workforce have either moved to shorter hours for the same pay, or will gain the right to, the researchers said.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57724779

Iceland elects Europe's first female majority parliament

5 hours ago

Iceland looks set to make history by becoming the first European country to elect a female majority to parliament.

According to projections based on the final election results, 33 of the 63 seats in the Althingi, or 52%, have been won by women.

This would mark an increase of nine seats from the last election in 2017.

No other European country has breached the 50% threshold, with Sweden coming closest at 47%, according to data from the Inter Parliamentary Union.

Unlike some other countries, Iceland does not have legal quotas on female representation in parliament, though some parties do require a minimum number of candidates be women.

The country has long been considered a leader in gender equality and was ranked the most gender-equal nation in the world for the 12th year running in a World Economic Forum report released in March.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58698490

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Iceland misses out on Europe's first female-majority parliament after recount

11 hours ago

Iceland briefly believed it had made history by electing Europe's first female-majority parliament - before a recount showed it had just fallen short.

Some 30 of the 63 seats (47.6%) were won by women.

But earlier results had showed women winning 33 seats (52%).

No European country has breached the 50% threshold, with Sweden coming closest at 47%, according to data from the Inter Parliamentary Union.

The results mean a further six women have been elected to Iceland's parliament, but men still hold a majority of seats.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58698490

I sometimes think, Iceland might be a good place to ride out the climate apocalypse. But then I see stories like this, and I'm reminded of its rather serious geological problems!

wjfox wrote: ↑Sat Nov 11, 2023 9:56 am I sometimes think, Iceland might be a good place to ride out the climate apocalypse. But then I see stories like this, and I'm reminded of its rather serious geological problems!

New Zealand is better.