Helping women advance in their careers is fundamental to achieving gender equality, says Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) executive director Nalini Singh.
Speaking at the launch of Paying It Forward (PiF-M) – a pilot feminist mentoring program for mid-career women – during International Women’s Day in Suva yesterday, she said these women were always overlooked.
Ms Singh said six women would undergo the program, mentored by pioneer women rights activist Imrana Jalal.
She said the program was tailor-made for a specific group of women to help provide them support and guidance.
Ms Singh said the aim was to help contribute to the growth of women who had the potential to be future leaders.
“These women are often at mid-career and hit the ‘glass ceiling’, were overlooked and denied the most senior levels of upper management,” she said.
Ms Jalal said there were significant gender gaps in leadership spaces in Fiji, according to research conducted by FWRM last year.
She said the research found that of 192 board members in 38 government-controlled boards, only 21 per cent were women.
“Ten of 38 boards or 26 per cent have less than 30 per cent women participation and 16 or 42 per cent (close to half) of 38 boards have no women at all,” Ms Jalal said.
“Overall, women’s participation in leadership spaces is low and this is why it is crucial that we support women at mid-career levels to help them progress into these spaces.”
