Innovation

Gender and equality perspectives

There's a definite gender bias in what is considered innovative, and women often struggle to break into an environment that has been developed and maintained by men. Men, for instance, form the vast majority of those who receive the Grants of Excellence from the Icelandic Research Fund, which supports scientific research and research-related graduate studies in Iceland.

There's a great emphasis on innovation and new business activities around energy transition in Iceland to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Energy and energy innovation is an example of a male-dominated industry, and men apply more often for and receive innovation grants for energy innovation grants in Iceland. From 2017 to 2019, women made up only 5% of grant recipients from the Energy Fund and received 1% of the total amount. In 2020, no women applied for grants from the Energy Fund. During the same period, 67% of Design Fund grant recipients were women, who received 75% of the total grant amount.

Unless a comprehensive gender and equality policy is implemented when it comes to innovation in Iceland, women and other minority groups will miss out on these opportunities, as men's areas of interest and innovation emphases in environmental and climate change matters have traditionally been in sync.

The Climate Fund provides grants for both innovation projects and promotional and educational projects. Women usually form the majority of applicants for educational and promotional projects, which often focus on how best to recycle and prevent food waste, while men apply for innovation project grants that propose technological solutions.

The Chairperson of the Climate Fund criticized Icelandic authorities for not providing more resources in the country's only government fund that explicitly addresses climate change issues. The Fund has been receiving 100 million ISK per year, which is insufficient to support good innovation projects for environmental and climate issues and contradicts the Government's policy of increasing innovation in these matters.

Apart from grant allocation, men are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial activities than women, and the main reasons for this are that such activity is characterized by risk, competition, and a solo self-employed work arrangement. Studies both in Iceland and abroad suggest that women are more likely to view these factors as hurdles than men. Women report that family needs often hold them back from managing their own businesses.

Women often lack role models for applying for or undertaking entrepreneurial work and more often have to defend their applications while men more frequently get to play offense and discuss profit opportunities.