Iceland may be "the best country in the world for gender equality" but women get paid 30 percent less than men. Trade unions and businesses united to fix the problem. They reevaluated people's salaries through a point system, regardless of their gender. Now, the government has decided all companies in Iceland will have to implement the system, or pay a fine.

Although Iceland has ranked the most gender equal nation in the world by The Word Economic Forum, there is still a gender pay gap. A new law might change that. Iceland has become the first, and only country to punish companies that pay women less than men.

The early impact of Germany’s wage transparency law has been limited because it only applies to large companies and, while it permits an employee to inquire whether she is paid differently than her male colleagues, she must still sue her employer herself in order to rectify the situation. In the fight for fair pay, it’s more effective to put the onus on companies to demonstrate responsible behavior rather than leave individuals to battle entrenched power structures by themselves.

Whole Foods, SumAll, and Buffer are three companies practicing salary transparency. Research shows that salary transparency is associated with higher employee productivity and collaboration, and it might be helpful in reducing gender pay inequality, though it this research is still in its early stages. Others worry transparency could increase competition and tension. Still, more and more proponents are slowly willing to try out this innovative practice with the hopes of creating more trust and equality at workplaces.

In the midst of controversy surrounding large gender pay-gaps in the United Kingdom, a wholesale company called Suma adopts a "co-op" mentality and pays everyone - regardless of gender, experience, or age - the same salary. The equal structure at Suma encourages employees to take active roles in all departments of the company, allowing them to see operational structure and strategy on all sides of the wholesale process.