Presenting the upcoming book:
"Women of Iceland:
Daughters of Fire & Ice"
Courageous Women Transforming our World
Featured photo: Heiða Guðný Ásgeirsdóttir,
first Icelandic woman sheep shearer; environmentalist, model; inside her barn feeding sheep
The first Woman of Iceland of course is nature, Gullfoss Waterfall
From the first democratically elected woman President in the world, to the first Icelandic woman Bishop in over 1,000 years, those featured in the Women of Iceland continue in the footsteps of a long line of women and men who from the Viking days to the 21st Century have chosen to walk first across industries, social movements, political leadership, arts, culture, education and the sciences into a world where women and men, and feminine leadership flourish in balance.
Eliza Reid, First Lady of Iceland and UN Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism and the SDGs
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, first democratically elected woman President in the world
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, current Prime Minister of Iceland, former Minister of Education, Science, and Culture; first woman Chair of the Left-Green Movement.
As the first global debut of the original global photography series "SDG HEROES Series",
each woman is photographed in her place of personal power and shares an "SDG Object" of
personal courage and vulnerability, that symbolizes the one of the
17 Sustainable Development Goals ("Heimsmarkmiðin") that is most important to her.
Katrín Pétursdóttir, first woman to own and serve as CEO of the largest fish oil company in the world, Lýsi
Katrín Olga Jóhannesdóttir, first woman Chair of the Board in 99 years, Icelandic Chamber of Commerce.
24 October, 1975, Women of Iceland "Took the Day Off," bringing the country to a standstill and changing history through the collective power of women united.
January, 2019, Iceland tops the World Economic Forum’s Gender Equality Index for the tenth year in a row.
By January, 2030: could Iceland change history again, becoming the first country in the world to achieve full
gender equality?
Daughters of Fire & Ice invites you on a journey of discovery and new possibility…
featured here as one of the Women of Iceland SDG Heroes, holding her SDG Object a dried Cod fish head and childhood book of Icelandic fish from her father, representing SDG #14: "Life Below Water"
SEE: Interview Published in
Real-Leaders Magazine, Winter 2018
SEE: Interview Published in
Real-Leaders Magazine, Winter 2018
"Women of Iceland" brings the transformative power of photography and candid interviews together
by introducing personal stories from those that know the story of Iceland's rise best: modern women Icelandic pioneers.
Black Sand Beach
Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, pioneering filmmaker and cultural entrepreneur; Writer and Co-director
of the documentary film InnSaei; Chair of the Technology Development Fund of Iceland
Ásthildur Sturludóttir, first woman Mayor in the West Fjords, and current Mayor of Akureyri
Melting glacier ice on Diamond Beach
Hellnar
Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir, former Team Captain of the Icelandic Women’s National Football Team
Eva María Þórarinsdóttir Lange, CEO and Co-founder Pink Iceland and first woman President of Reykjavík Pride
Rannveig Rist, first woman Managing Director of Rio Tinto Aluminum, Iceland
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir; former Mayor of Reykjavík,
Co-founder of the Women's List. She is serving currently under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as the first woman Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, first woman police Chief of Reykjavík
Kristín Ingólfsdóttir,
first woman President/Rector of the University of Iceland
Ragnheiður Jóna Jónsdóttir,
Owner and Manager of Hannesarsholt, where Hannes Hafstein, Iceland’s first prime minister, led the charge in getting Icelandic women the right to vote, in 1911
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Þórhildur Þorleifsdóttir, pioneering and maverick leader who broke numerous glass ceilings in art, opera, theater, art, film and television
Halla Tómasdóttir, first woman to integrate feminine values into Icelandic finance; international keynote speaker, CEO of "The B Team"
Svanhildur Konráðsdóttir, first woman Director of Harpa, Iceland's crown jewel cultural and musical center
Rósbjörg Jónsdóttir, Founder & Manager of Cognito Consulting. First woman to bring the Social Progress Index to Iceland; co-creator of Iceland's first tourism cluster; Chair of the Board of the Icelandic Environmental Association"
Guðrún Hallgrímsdóttir, Co-founder of the
Red Stockings movement
Sólveig Eiríksdóttir, first woman raw food chef and food designer
Rannveig Grétarsdóttir, first woman owner and CEO of Iceland's largest and most sustainable whale watching company
Ragnhildur Arnljótsdóttir Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s office
Eirún Sigurðardóttir and Jóni Jónsdóttir, feminist
mavericks in performance theater, changing gender roles through their "Icelandic Love Corporation". Trying here to catch a glance of the future.
Humpback whale
Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir, pioneering pedagogue and girls empowerment educator, and Author, Hjallastefnan
Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, first woman Minister of the Interior; former Mayor of Reykjavík, Co-founder and Chair of the Executive Board of Women Political Leaders, Global Forum
Lava flow
Erla Björg Guðrúnardóttir, founder and CEO of Marz Seafood, a pioneer in Icelandic fish brokering and the first with an all women's team
Inga Dóra Sigfúsdóttir, first Icelandic woman pioneer in addictions education; Professor Department of Psychology and Scientific Director Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis Reykjavík University
Rosmarie Brynhildur Thorleifsdóttir, first woman pioneer in Icelandic Horsemanship
Claudie Ashonie Wilson, first woman human rights attorney and head of Icelandic Immigrant Rights Association. Jamaican Immigrant.
Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir, first woman Bishop of the National Church of Iceland in almost 1,000 years
Auður Eir Vilhjálmsdóttir, first woman priest in Iceland
Birna Einarsdóttir, first woman CEO of Íslandsbanki
Iceland has been ranked #1 in the world eleven years in a row...It has been voted the best place in the world to be a woman... What are the secrets of Iceland’s success?... What can the world learn from her truths and challenges?... Could Iceland become the first in the world to achieve full gender equality?
World Economic Forum, January 2020
Inga Björk Bjarnadóttir SDG Heroes photo, pioneering disability activist, Chair of the Committee of the Social Democratic Alliance of Iceland, holding her SDG object: a lipstick,
SDG #10, "Reduced Inequalities"
"The Nordic country has blazed the trail in gender equality and now, from infancy to maternity,
women and girls enjoy a progressive lifestyle. But how did they achieve it?"
- The Guardian, October, 2016 - "Why Iceland is the Best Place to Be a Woman"
“My SDG is #17, Partnership for the Goals. My grandmother’s gold thimble symbolizes this, as she wove together every bit of old clothing and cloth to make a quilt for us all. And she reminded us that women who change the way things were, also need some spirit!”
Þóra Steinsgrimsdóttir, first women Head and Professor
of the University Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavík
Kristín Ástgeirsdóttir, first woman Chair of the Center for Gender Equality
Þóra Steingrímsdóttir, first woman Head and Professor
of the University Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavík
Skógafoss
We need a shift in collective consciousness. This begins with seeing and embracing ourselves and the gifts only we are able to offer. “What does it mean to be a woman in your own power?”
Friðbjörg Matthíasdóttir, first woman Standing in Mayor of Vesturbyggð, Westfjords
Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir, global pioneer in proving the effects of trauma in women's health; Professor of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland
Hrefna Rósa Sætran, first Icelandic woman to compete in the International Culinary Competition, and pioneering woman chef and restauranteur
It is time we looked at ourselves and the world differently. Being authentic in our own “courageous vulnerability” evolves leadership to embrace the feminine power essential for a balanced future.
Kleifarvatn
Anna Kristín Kristjánsdóttir, first publicly transgender woman in Iceland
Hallbera Guðný Gísladóttir, top Icelandic leader in the Icelandic Women’s Soccer Team; TV sports anchor
Vilborg Davíðsdóttir, leading ethnologist and first Icelandic woman to author Icelandic Sagas written with a woman protagonist
Þuríður Harpa Sigurðardóttir, first woman Director of the Organisation of Disabled Iceland, board member of the European Disability Forum
Valgerður Hrund Skúladóttir, first Icelandic woman entrepreneur in large technology infrastructure, CEO of Sensa
Anna Hulda Ólafsdóttir, Icelandic Champion in Olympic Weightlifting,
Assistant Professor, System Dynamics Center, University of Iceland
Alma Dagbjört Möller, first woman Director of National Health, Iceland; first woman helicopter Field doctor, Icelandic Coast Guard
Kristín Aðalbjörg Árnadóttir, first Icelandic Ambassador of Gender Equality
Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir, pioneering expert in mythology, and in Icelandic elves, trolls and hidden beings; Author; Founder, Elf Garden
Árný Erla Sveinbjörnsdóttir, first woman pioneer in Icelandic glaciology;
Research Scientist, University of Iceland
Guðrún Þorgerður Larsen,
first woman pioneer in Icelandic volcanology;
Professor Emeritus, University of Iceland
Kristín Ásteirsdóttir,
first woman Chair of the Center for Gender Equality
Ragna Árnadóttir, SDG Heroes photo, currently first woman Secretary General of Althingi, first Icelandic woman Minister of Justice following 2008 crash, and first woman deputy CEO of Landsvirkjun national power company of Iceland, holding her SDG object: a Star Wars light saber, SDG #7, "Affordable and Clean Energy”
Guðrún Pétursdóttir SDG Heroes photo, first woman Director of the Institute for Sustainability Studies, University of Iceland, wearing her SDG goal: her grandmother's thimble, SDG #17, "Partnerships for the Goals".
Sigríður Ásdís Snævarr, SDG Heroes Photo, first woman Icelandic Ambassador, holding her SDG object:
Icelandic SDGs, SDG #17: "Partnerships fo the Goals"
UN GLOBAL GOALS AND “SDG HEROES PHOTOS”
"SDG Heroes" is a unique photographic series celebrating courageous local and global leaders at the forefront meeting the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Women of Iceland Project celebrates leading Icelanders as SDG Heroes, each holding a chosen object of personal significance symbolizing the one Global Goal that is the most important to them.
The SDGs and the SDG Heroes are the Women of Iceland’s red thread.
With 193 country signatories to the SDGs, Iceland can be a lighthouse for the collective rise of women and a sustainable future for all.
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir SDG Heroes Photo, maverick visual artist and fashion designer, holding her SDG object: her book of handcraft from elementary school, representing
SDG #10: "Reduced Inequalities".