REYKJAVÍK ICELAND
Reykjavík Global Forum
Women Leaders
Reykjavík Global Forum
Co-Chairs
Co-Chairs
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Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen
CEO, Plan International
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Christy Tanner
Executive Vice-President and General Manager of CBS News Digital
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Gita Gopinath
Chief Economist, the IMF
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H.E. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
President of the Republic of Croatia
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Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Prime Minister of Iceland
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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)
About
the forum
The Reykjavík Global Forum is where women leaders discuss and share ideas and solutions on how to further advance society.
The Reykjavík Global Forum – Women Leaders was launched in November, 2018, in Reykjavík, Iceland, as the Women Leaders Global Forum. The Forum is annually co-hosted by Women Political Leaders (WPL), and the Government and Parliament of Iceland, under the heading Power, Together.
Each year the Forum invites 450 leaders from around the globe, including Presidents and Prime Ministers and other public figures, as well as leaders from business, academia, civil society, arts, media and more who are playing a vital role in their respective fields sharing ideas, insights and experiences.
Consistently ranked as the leading country on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Iceland is the perfect location for the most relevant Forum for women leaders. It’s the single destination that transcends both geographic and sector boundaries, creating a platform that fosters conversation between outstanding leaders.
OUR Story
Imagine Women Leaders from all continents creating significance and impact, like for example the World Economic Forum (WEF) does, but with a difference in style. When Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Founder and President of the Women Political Leaders (WPL), and Hanna Birna Kristjansdottir, Chair of the Board, experienced the WEF in January 2017, they were determined to turn “imagine?” into “we can do it!”.
They were convinced that Iceland, as the best country for women (according to the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report) would be the perfect location for a Reykjavík Global Forum. A conference, bringing together women leaders from all sectors: politics, business, tech, science, media etc. Having convened Women Political Leaders in Iceland in November 2017, the next step was obvious: make it a tradition. WPL with the Government and the Parliament of Iceland are since annually co-hosting a multi-stakeholder Reykjavík Global Forum. The Forum had its inaugural event in November 2018 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Featured Conversationists
Featured Conversationists
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Amanda Ellis
Exec Director Hawaii & Asia Pacific, Senior Sustainability Scholar
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Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of Mauritius (2015-2018)
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Angela Todisco
Head of Human Resources, EMEA North
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Ann Cairns
Vice Chairman, Mastercard
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Atifete Jahjaga
President of the Republic of Kosovo (2011-2016)
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Barbara Boxer
Former Member of the Senate, Senate of the United States of America
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Beatriz Merino
Executive President of the Cesar Vallejo University of Peru, Prime Minister of Peru (2003), National Ombudsman for Peru (2005 – 2011), Member of CWWL
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Chioma Agwuegbo
Founder, TechHerNG
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Christine Heenan
Founder and President, Clarendon Group
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Dagur B. Eggertsson
Mayor of Reykjavík, Government of Iceland
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Dalia Grybauskaitè
President of Lithuania (2009-2019), Chair Emerita of the Council of Women World Leaders (2014-2019)
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Dina Kaplan
Founder, The Path
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Dirk Luyten
Managing Director, INSEAD
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Donna Leinwand Leger
Digital Media Leader & Former Managing Editor of USA Today
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Felicia Knaul
First Lady & Director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami
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Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
President of Iceland
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Gwen Young
Managing Director of the Global Emergency Response Coalition and Distinguished Fellow, The Wilson Center
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Hiltrud D. Werner
Member of the Board of Management, Integrity and Legal affairs, Volkswagen AG
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Jacqueline Hunt
Member of the Board of Management, Asset Management, US Life Insurance at Allianz SE
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Jane Geraghty
Chief Executive Officer, Landor
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Jewel Taylor
Vice-President of the Republic of Liberia, President of the Senate of Liberia and Member of the WPL Executive Board
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Julia Gillard
Prime Minister of Australia (2010-2013), Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership
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Lana Popovic
President Central and Eastern Europe Business Unit, The Coca-Cola Company
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Laura Liswood
Secretary General, Council of Women World Leaders
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Louise Pentland
EVP Chief Business Affairs and Legal Officer, PayPal
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Mabel Van Oranje
Chair, Girls Not Brides
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Maggie MacDonnell
Global Teacher Prize Winner
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Michele Parmelee
Global Chief People and Purpose Officer, Deloitte
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Michelle Harrison
Global CEO Public Division, Kantar & Global CEO, WPP Government Practice
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Naina Subberwal
Chairperson and CEO, AVPN
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Patricia Milligan
Senior Partner and Global Leader of When Women Thrive and Multinational Client Group, Mercer
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Paula Ann Cox
Premier of Bermuda (2010-2012)
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Renee Lahti
SVP, Chief Information Officer, Hitachi Vantara
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Sawyer Garrity
Student, University of Miami
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Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
Speaker of the Althingi, Parliament of Iceland
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Tuula Haatainen
Vice Speaker of the Finnish Parliament
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Uzra Zeya
President and CEO, The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP)
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Victoria Budson
Founding Executive Director of the Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
ICELAND: THE GLOBAL CHAMPION OF EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN
The Reykjavík Global Forum takes place in Iceland. For many years Iceland has been the global champion in the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report which examines disparities between men and women in terms of political empowerment, economic opportunity, education and health.
milestones that matter:
1915
Women gain national suffrage and the right to hold office
1922
The first woman elected to the Icelandic Parliament
1961
Equal Pay Act approved by the Parliament
1975
Women nationwide take a day off on October 24
1976
Equality Act approved and the Equaliry Council is founded
1980
The first nationally elected female president in the world
1982
The Women’s Alliance runs for Parliament
1995
Equal rights of women and men stated in the constitution
2003
Equal rights of women and men of parental leave
2010
Companies are obliged to have 40% women or men on board
4 things that made the difference
Equal Parental Leave
9 Months (3 for women, 3 for men and 3 to share). 90% of men use their right, consequently, the gender pay gap has decreased.
Equal Pay Law
On 1 January, 2018, Iceland became the first country in the world to make it illegal to pay men more than women for doing the same job.
Strong Female Role Models
40% of MP’s are women, over 30% of members in local governments are women; over 60% of university students of women; 80% of women participate in the labour market.
Consensus From Left to Right
Icelandic women have, in most cases, agreed upon the greatest gender equality steps taken, across party lines
Sustainability policy
Reykjavík Global Forum is committed to a sustainable future and has the ultimate ambition of being carbon-neutral. Following expert advice the Forum will focus on the environmental impact of the event itself.
This is a first step on an extremely important road towards the sustainability goals that are being developed.
We value the importance of minimising the environmental impact of the event by adopting best practices wherever possible. We encourage our Conversationists, partners and suppliers to do the same and focus on environmentally friendly solutions and respectful treatment of the environment. Based on our mission and insights from our partners, we are aware that a large international event can put a strain on resources and have a negative environmental impact. But, in order to address our responsibility, the Forum, using the principles of Reduce – Remove – Recycle, has identified the following areas as focus points:
- THE USE OF ENERGY
- APPLYING TRAVEL INITIATIVES
- RECYCLING
- CATERING THE EVENT
- SUPPLY CHAIN
- BEST PRACTICES