Page 19 - IB September 2024

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WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti

The Pacific has seen 15 Triennial Conferences of Pacific
Women, eight Pacific Ministers for Women meetings, and 30
years of the Pacific Platform for Action on Gender Equality
and Women’s Human Rights, but as the 53rd Pacific Islands
Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM) wrapped up in Tonga in
August, questions were being asked about how much of the
outcomes from these meetings were brought to the Forum
Leaders table for discussion this year.
An observer at a closed plenary session for the 53rd PIFLM,
Head of the Pacific for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Shiva
Gounden, shared his insights: “Gender was not discussed
much at all; the Republic of the Marshall Islands President,
Hilde Heine, was the only leader who spoke very strongly
about the inclusion of gender in terms of any of the Pacific
issues that have been addressed or will be addressed at this
Pacific Islands Forum, especially climate change. Aside from
her, nothing at all from the other leaders. A Tongan woman serves leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in
Tonga last month. According to a Lowy Institute report in August, the Pacific Islands
“And that is pretty much the only time I heard gender in has the lowest level of female political representation in the world. Photo: Pacific
Islands Forum Secretariat
the Forum so far,” Gounden told Islands Business during the
Forum meeting.
Gender in the Pacific has been an ongoing topic of for them, and I don’t understand why. We have our women
discussion for 30 years now. Whether it is women in leadership now in CEO positions and in high positions, so why can’t we
or the treatment of women and girls, it is clear that even vote for our women in Parliament?”.
though there has been progress, it is moving very slowly. There was also a noticeable absence of gender issues from
The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Gender Statistics in the the official side events for 53rd PIFLM, and Tongan activist and
Pacific dashboard indicates that while women in the Pacific founder of the Women’s Crisis Centre in Tonga, Ofa Ki Levuka
hold 56 percent of managerial positions, the same cannot be Guttenbeil, noticed.
said when it comes to women in leadership positions. Aside A former journalist turned women’s activist, Guttenbeil
from French Polynesia and New Caledonia going over the 50 said: “Have you noticed that there aren’t any gender side
percent threshold, the rest of the Pacific Islands are well events?
below the figure. “It is shocking to me that we send Ministers to these
An August 2024 report titled, ‘Women are Underfunded in events that are meant to improve and empower Ministers to
the Pacific Islands’ by Lowy Institute research fellow Jessica implement activities or policies on the ground, but there are
Collins, states that “right across the Pacific Island region, no changes; we need to hold them accountable,” she said.
women are on the back foot; the Pacific Islands has the lowest She also commented on the revised Pacific Leaders Gender
level of female political representation in the world”. Equality Declaration and the yearly PIFLM meeting.
Said Guttenbeil: “I feel we always do reviews, go around
Women in politics in the Pacific the Pacific, and we get people’s feedback and comments,
In Tonga, the proportion of seats held by women in the but there is always something missing because it has been
national parliament is 7 percent. Tonga National University more than 30 years and we have yet to see any accelerated
lecturer, Nanise Fifita raises the question, “What is wrong progress towards gender, and the problem is that the people
with us women? do not know what the leaders are committing to.”
“We have 59 percent more women in Tonga than men, so There clearly is a need to bridge the gap between regional
what’s wrong with women being represented in Parliament? commitments and what is happening on the ground.
The question is, how can we persuade and empower women According to Guttenbeil, women in Tonga are searching for
to cast their votes in the House? What is stopping us? To me, opportunities in countries such as Australia and New Zealand,
I think the underlying issue stopping women from voting is as they have limited options available to them.
our competitive human nature of not embracing someone’s “Our women are looking elsewhere, and if Tonga and our
achievement,” Fifita says. leaders do not look into giving our women more opportunities,
The other factor is that “when people look at a successful they will take their talent and contribute to the economy
woman who is also academically qualified, they will not vote overseas, so I really hope that our leaders can marry the

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