THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER! A New York Times Book Review Editor's Pick Secrets of the
Sprakkar is a fascinating window into what a more gender-equal world could look like and why
it's worth striving for. Iceland is doing a lot to level the playing field: paid parental leave
affordable childcare and broad support for gender equality as a core value. Reid takes us on
an exploration not only around this fascinating island but also through the triumphs and
stumbles of a country as it journeys towards gender equality. -Hillary Rodham Clinton Iceland
is the best place on earth to be a woman-but why? For the past twelve years the World Economic
Forum's Global Gender Gap Report has ranked Iceland number one on its list of countries closing
the gap in equality between men and women. What is it about Iceland that makes many women's
experience there so positive? Why has their society made such meaningful progress in this
ongoing battle from electing the world's first female president to passing legislation
specifically designed to help even the playing field at work and at home? And how can we learn
from what Icelanders have already discovered about women's powerful place in society and how
increased fairness benefits everyone? Eliza Reid the First Lady of Iceland examines her
adopted homeland's attitude toward women-the deep-seated cultural sense of fairness the
influence of current and historical role models and crucially the areas where Iceland still
has room for improvement. Reid's own experience as an immigrant from small-town Canada who
never expected to become a first lady is expertly interwoven with interviews with dozens of
sprakkar (extraordinary women) to form the backbone of an illuminating discussion of what it
means to move through the world as a woman and how the rules of society play more of a role in
who we view as equal than we may understand. Secrets of the Sprakkar is a powerful and
atmospheric portrait of a tiny country that could lead the way forward for us all.
