Over 30 leading women, youth advocates, parliamentarians, and gender equality champions from diverse Pacific regions recently convened in Nadi for the Women’s Leadership Regional Intergenerational Dialogue: Waves of Change – Pacific Women in Politics across Generations. This significant gathering, organized by the UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office as part of the WYDE initiative, aims to fortify women’s political engagement and leadership throughout the region.
At the event’s opening, Eseta Nadakuitavuki, Permanent Secretary for Women, Children, and Social Protection, underscored a concerning decline in women’s representation in Fijian politics. Despite Fiji exceeding the Sustainable Development Goal 5.5 target in 2018 with women occupying 20% of parliamentary seats, this dropped to a mere 10.9% during the 2022 election. Addressing barriers like gender-based violence, unpaid labor, economic exclusion, and limited access to communication was stressed as crucial for improvement.
Alison Davidian, UN Women Fiji MCO Representative, highlighted how the Pacific was proactive in crafting its gender equality framework even before the 1995 Beijing global conference. However, today’s representation is below par, with women holding merely 8% of parliamentary seats. Davidian emphasized the need for systemic changes, political commitment, and accountability to ensure that women’s leadership is duly recognized and represented.
The dialogue’s agenda featured valuable sessions such as mentorship opportunities linking young leaders with seasoned politicians, youth-led initiatives to shift gender stereotypes, and strategic discussions on legal reforms, coalition building, and storytelling as catalysts for change.
EU First Counsellor Carine Hanssens articulated the broader underrepresentation issue, with women making up just 27% of parliamentarians worldwide. The EU’s substantial €11.5 million investment through the Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative is one avenue to enhance women’s participation in decision-making.
Participants at the dialogue look to advance key recommendations in advocacy, mentorship, and collaboration. These contributions aim to dovetail with ongoing work under the Beijing+30 initiative and global platforms dedicated to gender equality.
Notably, this dialogue aligns with ongoing advocacy and systemic change discussions in the Pacific region, as emphasized in recent forums. The introduction of mentorship programs, advocating for systemic reforms, and addressing unique barriers have been recurring themes meant to bolster women’s roles in political spaces.
Such gathered efforts and sustained advocacy signal a hopeful direction toward amplifying women’s voices, paving the way for a more equitable political and societal landscape across the Pacific. Through combined efforts and sustained political determination, the future holds substantial promise for advancing women’s participation and leadership across the region.