Minister for Women Lynda Tabuya emphasizes the importance of working together to foster gender equality and enhance women’s leadership across the Pacific region.

She stated this while opening a four-day Pacific Women Leaders Program, which is currently under way at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, yesterday.

This sub-regional program has brought together women leaders and representatives of various agencies from across the region, including Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

This meeting discussed improving awareness about the Pacific region’s standing in relation to global gender gaps in accordance with relevant gender equality indicators.

The Minister for Women highlights the significant strides made in Fiji over the past 30 years in areas such as education, maternal mortality, access to health services, technology, and infrastructure.

Despite this, the recent Fiji Country Gender Assessment revealed ongoing challenges hindering the empowerment of Fijian women and girls.

Tabuya says that the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 ranked Fiji’s political empowerment index at 139th.

She states that according to the UN SDG Indicator Dashboard, women hold approximately 25.6 percent of seats in parliaments globally, while Fiji sits at 10 percent.

The women’s minister highlights the need for collective participation in challenging existing norms in order to create a supportive environment for all individuals.