Getting ahead in Icelandic society: Individuals' experience of equal opportunities in Iceland

Abstract

The public holds different views on inequality, reflecting a certain tension in the ideology of modern welfare states. On the one hand, there are ideas that emphasize that inequality is desirable because it encourages the most efficient and promising individuals to excel and thus leads to progress for society and moreover that inequality can be justified as long as it is based on equal opportunities. On the other hand, there are ideas that emphasize that inequality is unjust because people's opportunities to climb the social ladder are in practice unequal, for example due to different upbringing conditions or discrimination due to sex, sexuality or race. Iceland has long prided itself of being somewhat of an equality paradise in a world of prejudice and discrimination. Research has shown that background and connections matters more than knowledge and skill set when it comes to getting ahead in society, and that beliefs in opportunity barriers are widespread in Iceland. The purpose of this research is to examine and evaluate Icelanders' perception of equal opportunities and what they consider important to get ahead in life. The research uses a dataset from the 2020 Icelandic Social Survey (ISS). Eight questions from the questionnaire and ten primary variables were considered; four types of capital (economic, cultural, social and symbolic), social comparison, class position, education, age, nationality and gender. Estimates were made with 95% confidence and a significance level of 0.05. The research results indicate that while Icelanders firmly believe in the value of diligence and hard work, they also believe that there are some advantages or opportunity obstacles that one may encounter when trying to advance in Icelandic society. Opportunity beliefs are influenced by a wide range of factors, demonstrating the importance and the diversity of the issue.