The Feminization of the Icelandic State

Article here. Excerpt:

'For more than half a century, Iceland has pursued one of the democratic world’s most ambitious social experiments.

Its stated objective was clear: dismantle male dominance. By every conventional measure, it succeeded. Iceland is famous for being the world’s “most equal country,” proudly topping international rankings for sex equality. Women occupy the presidency, the prime minister’s office, cabinet ministries, Iceland’s national state church, universities, schools, municipalities, police, social services, newsrooms and much of the country’s ever expanding public bureaucracy.

International delegations arrive eager to discover the secret of Iceland’s success. Politicians from abroad praise the “Icelandic model.” International organizations celebrate it. Iceland has become the country that much of the Western world is encouraged to emulate.

And yet, nobody asks the question that every successful social experiment eventually deserves.

What happens when a society spends decades correcting one imbalance, only to create another that has become so politically sensitive that almost no one dares acknowledge or question it?

This article is not an argument against women holding positions of authority and power. Nor is it an argument for returning to some mythical past in which men dominated public life. It’s about something both simpler and more unsettling.'