PM to challenge Pacific leaders on absence of women

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is concerned about the lack of female representation in Pacific democracies and plans to raise the issue directly with leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum.

“I do raise it, and I will continue to raise it,” she told the Herald.

“The Pacific is out of kilter with general global figures — there is generally very low participation of women and, yet, a number of issues we face in the Pacific directly affect women and women’s wellbeing.”

Ardern arrived in Tuvalu yesterday afternoon for the forum.

Today when she meets Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine and Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) SecretaryGeneral Dame Meg Taylor this topic is expected to be covered.

Ardern said issues such as climate change, fisheries and maritime policy will be on the agenda for leaders.

But she planned to directly raise the issue of the lack of female representation in Pacific politics too.

“It’s not just about how many female Prime Ministers there are in the region, but really just women’s participation and representation in politics generally,” she said.

According to UN Women, a branch of the United Nations dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, the Pacific has the lowest percentage of women in Parliament in the world.

At just 16.3 per cent, it is behind the Arab States which have 19 per cent and Asia which has 19.8 per cent.

In Fiji women made up only 24 per cent of the 235 candidates in the country’s 2018 election. Of the 49 members of the Samoan national Legislative Assembly, only five are women and Papua New Guinea’s Parliament of 111 MPs has no women.

In fact, in PIF countries, not including Australia and New Zealand, there are just 46 women MPs out of the total 560 MPs, according to the Pacific Women in Politics organisation.

Ardern said the gender imbalance was of concern. But there were practical things that could be done from NZ’s perspective to address the issue.

For example, NZ’s Parliament had a mentoring programme where MPs supported Pacific people in politics.

“But it won’t stop me from also being an advocate,” Ardern said.

She plans to raise the issues with Pacific leaders when she speaks to them one-on-one. “But I equally have no problem raising it in a forum generally as well.”

As is the case at many PIFs over the years, climate change will be front and centre of the discussions.

“A big issue for the Pacific is how it can access grant funding and aid funding in order to implement adaptation and mitigation [strategies].”

That covers everything from less reliance on diesel generation, to managing coastal hazards.