Women win nearly half of the seats in Iceland Parliamentary election

NPR reports that if women formed a political party, they would need only two more seats to form a majority government in Iceland, after winning a record 30 seats in this weekend's national elections. Voter turnout was just under 80 percent — local media say that's a record low for Iceland.

With female candidates winning nearly half (48 percent) of the 63 seats, Iceland now has the "most equal Parliament in the world" without a quota system, according to the country's Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

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While advocates for women's equality in Iceland will likely welcome Saturday's election results, they're still working on another common problem: gender pay equity. Last Monday, Icelandic unions and activists urged female workers to leave their jobs at 2:38 p.m. — to reflect the time after which they're working for free, when compared to their male counterparts.

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