The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement launched a groundbreaking research report, “Beyond 33 per cent: The Economic Empowerment of Fiji Women and Girls”, in Suva on Wednesday early this week.
The research report, where FWRM commissioned Professor Wadan Narsey, brings in comprehensive analysis of the situation of women and girls in Fiji, focusing on paid work, unpaid household work and leisure time activities.
It is solidly based on official data sources such as the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service and Fiji National Provident Fund to generate evidence on status of women and girls in the Fijian economy and society.
Supported by the Australian government through the We Rise Coalition, the report comprehensively documents the many inequities that women and girls face in the economy in paid work (formal and informal sectors), unpaid household work and in the use of leisure time.
According to the report, females are concentrated in employment status work with extremely low average incomes, such as family work and subsistence.
The report stated females were concentrated more in occupations and industries with low average incomes.
“The female average income in 2015-2016 was $10,880 14 per cent less than the $12,691 for males,” the report stated.
The FWRM research report stated female average income have not kept pace with male average income, hence the percentage gender gaps in average incomes have widened.
“While females were 34 per cent of the paid labour force with large numbers of them having low income, the female share of total income in 2015-2016 was even lower 30 per cent.
“Corresponding to these percentages of total income are the female shares of the extremely large sums of money in the Fiji National Provident Fund, perhaps the only national indicator of wealth ownership.
“The female share had risen from only 20 per cent in 1994 to 33 per cent in 2018, with the growth slowing down, reaching only 35 per cent by 2021.”
The report is supported by the Australian government through the We Rise Coalition.
