Gender-equality still fails to get parity in Fiji

FIJI is a highly patriarchal society where change has been relatively slow, and women still fail to get parity in political representation and participation in policy formulation.

Dialogue Fiji executive director Nilesh Lal highlighted this while addressing the Regional Conference on Gender-responsive Climate Policy Formulation at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva yesterday.

“Gender-responsive climate policies are not a mere abstraction but a call to action grounded in the realities faced by the women and men of our region,” Mr Lal said.

“The Pacific, as you know, is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world to climate change.

“Our problem, however, doesn’t end there.

“As you will see over the next two days, climate change has a critical dimension, in that gender is not a neutral factor in the climate equation.

“It is a powerful determinant of vulnerability and resilience.”

He said the effects of climate change were often disproportionately borne by women, who played a central role in climate adaptation and resilience.

“Our commitment should not only to recognise these challenges but to actively address them through policies that are sensitive to gender-specific needs.

“Recognising the urgency is one thing; operationalising change is another.

“Throughout this conference, we aim not only to analyse the existing climate change policies but also to strategise and implement tangible actions.

“How can we translate our collective commitment into policies that transform the lives of our communities?

“This is the question that echoes through every session, every panel discussion, and every group dialogue.”

Representatives of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu are attending the two-day conference which began yesterday.

The objectives of the conference are to:

■ foster cross-sector collaboration and networking among organisations to address gender-blind policy in climate change;

■ increase awareness and understanding of the impact of genderblind policy on women in climate change and environmental governance;

■ empower CSOs to advocate for gender-responsive climate policy and environmental governance through the development of policy positions and advocacy ideas and assess the capacity of CSOs for future capacity development opportunities; and

■ advocate for the adoption of gender-responsive climate policies and environmental governance by engaging and influencing policymakers in Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.