Empowering women
BE bold, be brave and believe that you are equal to your male counterparts. Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa highlighted this during the HFC International Women's Day morning tea on Monday.
Ms Vuniwaqa said mindsets and assumptions get in the way when it comes to implementing gender diversity, in spite of all the evidence females are better represented in the workplace and have a positive knock-on effect for the business.
She says women do not only have a responsibility but the power to change the game for other aspiring and potential women leaders who they work with.
"International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities," Ms Vuniwaqa said.
She said International Women's Day grew out of a labour movement to become an UNrecognised annual event.
The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote.
With the struggles and sacrifices and lobbying of women's rights activists around the world, the International Women's Day came to pass.
Ms Vuniwaqa said empowering women and girls was the only way to protect their rights and to make sure they realise their full potential.
She said people needed to work hand in hand and do away with this system where the rights of women and girls are being reduced, restricted and reversed.
"Every woman is inspiring, because every woman's story is a story of bravery. A story of overcoming the challenges and issues that affect women – and only women.
"I believe that our career is our personal project, so we need to get fully involved in it. That means that we need to invest in the preparation and the planning because we have to have your own vision of where we wish for our careers to go.
"A personal commitment and drive is key."
Unfortunately Ms Vuniwaqa said women had been subjected to unconscious bias in their workplace –and therefore their responsibility was to change that mindset.
"History is a witness that swimming against the current, women have always had to speak louder to get their voices heard. We have always had to create a room of our own.”
She says Fiji is on its journey to become the best version of itself and would only achieve this if women are treated equally and fairly.