Pacific women

Caleb Jarvis says despite most of the region being free of the virus, the economic impact of closed borders has been detrimental.

Jarvis says this is evident in countries reliant on tourism - a sector with a majority of female workers.

From capital to develop and export goods like coffee, to training and support with digital platforms, Mr Jarvis says many women are balancing with being the primary caregivers at home.

According to a survey conducted by PTI, the economic impacts of Covid-19 on female-led businesses in the Pacific continue to rise.

Although the Pacific has largely been spared by the spread of the disease relative to other regions around the world – with Fiji hardest hit of the six countries the UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls programme works in, at 18 confirmed cases – all of which have since been cleared, and several countries without a recorded a case so far – the economic and social consequences have been deep.

The leaders met virtually last week to discuss the gender implications of Covid-19 in the Pacific.

Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, and Australian Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, were the convenors of the meeting whose participants included other ministers, MPs and senior civil servants.

They idenfitied core areas where women and girls have been disproportionately affected.

These include health impacts where women healthcare workers are at the frontline of the pandemic response.

Eight of the 13 recipients of the awards, sponsored by the University of Hawaii's Pacific Business Center, were women.

One was Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, who, in her keynote speech spoke about the influence of her mother, the challenges she faced as a young single woman claiming titles that belonged to her father, the first prime minister of Samoa.

She said the most memorable example of resilience and healing for her was the coming together of the people in Samoa after the 2009 tsunami.

Australian Awards is piloting a new Australia Awards short course that aims to help build the capacity of women to trade.

The ‘Australia Awards: Women Trading Globally’ course is offered to Pacific women with their own business who have the potential to become ‘export ready’. 

It will cover international trade and how one might be able to embark on the pathway of growing their business into new international markets.

Pacific artists are among 15 artists exhibiting at Women's Work, including Sulieti Fieme'a Burrows, Juliana Browneyes-Clifford, Emily Mafile'o, Karlo Mila, Lisa Taouma and Tui Emma Gillies.

The show is aimed at challenging old and new stereotypes around the work of women considering how it can be challenged, celebrated, hidden or illuminated.

Co-curator Billie Lythberg said it is an opportunity for people to respond to normative responses to the tasks of women.

Nauru's Education Minister Charmaine Scotty made the call on behalf of the Forum during the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN.

The theme of this year's session of the Commission is women's economic empowerment in the changing world of work.

The Pacific Islands Forum recommended it recognise climate change, disasters and the ongoing threats to oceans and coasts are changing work for Pacific women.

It said women in the region depended on marine resources including fisheries for their employment and well-being.

Making half of the population, Pacific women are represented at every level of the tourism industry from grassroots handcraft producers, and hotel and resort employees, to tourism industry executives.

“Pacific Women are the backbone of our tourism industry. Without the hospitable service that starts from their homes and which they take to the frontlines of the tourism industry, tourists would not have the enriching experiences that guarantee their return to our shores,” said SPTO Chief Executive Officer Chris Cocker.

Today is International Women's Day and the UN says women in the region still experience limited job opportunities, under-representation in management positions, and workplace harassment.

Deputy Representative at the Pacific office for UN Women Nicolas Burniat said women also faced more limited employment opportunities, despite making up a significant portion of the informal economy.

Mr Burniat said the under-utilisation of half the population meant the potential of the Pacific's economies was also being under-utilised.

The group’s action is also ensuring accountability to women’s human rights.

The partners in the We Rise Coalition are using their collective power to send a message about women’s human rights issues in Fiji and the Pacific at the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

This will be convened at the UN headquarters in New York from March 13 – 24.

In 1994, Pacific Governments adopted the Pacific Platform for Action (PPA) which guided the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action at the UN 4th World Conference of Women in 1995.