Women’s voices must equally be heard in Parliament and Government, said Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lenora Qereqeretabua while speaking at the 13th Conference of the Pacific Community (SPC) in New Caledonia.
She said only 8.5 per cent of members of Parliament in the Pacific were women.
“As a region we have the lowest rates of women in national decision-making in the world,” said.
“Without women’s voices equally contributing to Parliament, to government and in other decision-making spaces, how can we truly harness the full potential of our Pacific peoples?
“Pacific countries are recognising these issues, and I have been watching with great interest developments for the introduction of special measures — in Samoa and Vanuatu. I am keen for us to learn from these initiatives.
“We have our universal and regional commitments for gender equality.
“Each country represented here has signed up to at least one or more regional or international commitment on gender equality. What are we doing about these commitments on a national level?”
