麻豆社

As the World Service marks its 80th anniversary, we ask six octogenarians how the world has changed for women in the last eight decades. In no single arena has the world altered so much and in such myriad ways.

In some parts of the globe, the position of women is unrecognisable compared to 80 years ago, in others, women lead lives virtually unchanged since the days of their grandmothers.

The Nordic countries have led the way in women's equality. Vigdis Finnbogadottir was the country's president for 16 years, from 1980 to 1996.

Now aged 82 she talks to Jenni Murray about the fight for women's equality. She explains why Icelandic women take "days off" to highlight the pay gap, why the country had a women's political party and whether the advances made by women in Iceland can be exported to the rest of the world.

She also discusses the boom and bust - was Iceland brought low by a group of men known as the Neo-Vikings and would women have made a better job of running the economy?

(Image: Vigdis Finnbogadottir. Credit: Geir Olafsson)