Women now make up about 43 per cent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs workforce, serving in senior leadership roles and professional positions in the capital and abroad.
The ministry says the increase reflects its ongoing efforts to strengthen gender equity and inclusion through transparent, merit-based recruitment processes that ensure women are given equal opportunity to serve in Fiji’s diplomatic missions.
In a statement, the ministry reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to advancing women’s participation and leadership across all levels of the foreign service.
For the first time in Fiji’s history, the ministry’s top leadership includes women at every level; the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and the Chief of Protocol, who is the first woman to hold that position.
The ministry also highlighted the achievements of several women who continue to break new ground in diplomacy and security.
Colonel Siliva Vananalagi recently completed her two-year term in New York as Fiji’s first female Military and Police Advisor to the United Nations.
Keleni Seruvatu serves as Deputy Permanent Representative at Fiji’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, while Laite Ratuvuki is Counsellor at the Fiji High Commission in Canberra.
Every Fijian diplomatic mission now has at least one female officer, serving in positions such as First Secretary or Second Secretary. Sixteen female officers are currently posted abroad, while 35 serve at the ministry’s headquarters in Suva.
The ministry said it remained committed to ensuring greater representation of women as Heads of Mission and in senior diplomatic appointments.
It is developing a structured career pathway to enable experienced and trained staff, including women, to advance into ambassadorial and leadership roles.
That pathway is being supported through the new Fijian Institute for Diplomatic Training in Nasese, which will serve as the foundation for building a professional cadre of career diplomats with the skills and global perspective needed for high-level representation.
Guided by Fiji’s Foreign Policy and the National Development Plan, the ministry said women’s empowerment and gender equality remained central to its work, ensuring a fair and balanced workforce built on merit.
