Tens of thousands of women in Iceland, including Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, will refuse to work on Tuesday.

In protest of the gender pay gap and violence against women, the “kvennafri” has been called.

Particularly affected are fields where women make up the majority of workers, such as healthcare and education.

Women are set to walk out for the first time since 1975 during the planned walkout.

On Tuesday, women and non-binary people are encouraged to refuse paid and unpaid work, including household chores.

In comparison to traditionally male-dominated fields, Ms Jakobsdóttir said, the government is looking at how female-dominated professions are valued.

Women represent the majority of teachers at every level of the educational system, including 94% of kindergarten teachers, according to the Icelandic Teachers’ Union.

The National University Hospital of Iceland, the largest hospital in Iceland, employs 80% women.

For 14 years in a row, Iceland has been ranked number one in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

As one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries, the volcano island ranks 14th for economic participation, behind Liberia, Jamaica and Norway.

The Icelandic female workforce went on strike in 1975 in an effort to highlight the importance of women to the country’s economy. As a result of the strike, the country’s parliament passed an equal pay law the following year.