Introduction

Iceland has topped global charts on gender equality for nearly a decade. One of the country’s more radical approaches to breaking gender stereotypes is a school method called Hjalli. Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir opened the first Hjalli pre-school in 1989. Here, children play with open-ended toys, wear school uniforms and use gender-neutral learning materials. More unusually, girls and boys have separate classes throughout most of the day. In 2006, Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir received The Knight’s Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon from the President of Iceland for innovation in education. She tell us what she thinks it takes to undo children’s gender biases. Host: Clara Young; Producer: Ilse Sánchez Pacheco