Invest in Women: A Call to Action on International Women's Day

As the Pacific joins global International Women's Day celebrations, it is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made towards advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls in the region.  

The United Nations (UN) remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting gender equality and women's rights, acknowledging that these are indispensable pillars for sustainable development and that without their full realization, meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets is impossible.  

In the Pacific, it is commendable to see Pacific governments, civil society, and increasingly, the private sector and faith-based communities, ramping up efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

There is greater engagement on global platforms related to gender equality and women’s empowerment,such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the BeijingDeclaration and Platform for Action, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the International Conferenceon Population andDevelopment (ICPD), and the UN’s 2030 Agenda. 

There have also been regional and national commitments made to gender equality and women’s empowerment through the revised Pacific Leaders’ Gender Equality Declaration (PLGED), the Pacific Platform for Action for Gender Equality and Women’sHuman Rights (2018-2030) and 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the ratification of human rights conventions, and the endorsement of stronger national gender policies and legislation. 

While we celebrate all women today, especially women across the Pacific and their achievements, much work remains to be done to end discrimination against women and gender inequality.  

This year’s IWD theme focuses on women’s economic empowerment – a reminder that globally, financial investment into women remains alarmingly low and current economic structures push more women into poverty. 

Today, 1 in every 10 women lives in extreme poverty, and projections indicate 342.4 million women and girls will not have moved out of extreme poverty by 2030 unless trends change. 

Where prevalence studies have been carried out regionally, findings reveal that up to 68 percent of Pacific women have disclosed enduring physical or sexual violence from a partner during their lifetime.  

Additionally, gender inequality persists, evidenced by disparities in access to opportunities, employment, and political participation, underscoring the ongoing struggle for women's rights in the region.  

Solomon Islands continues to strive for greater women's political participation and increased representation in parliament - in 2022, Solomon Islands recorded their highest rate of female participation in elected legislature, with four out of 50 MPs being women.

While there is a lack of data on the current rate of female participation in tertiary level education and technical vocational education and training.

Regarding technical vocational education and training, young men predominate in regional training centers and TVET, accounting for 73% of students, compared to just 27% of young women.

There are multiple barriers to girls’ and women’s education in Solomon Islands, such as a lack of basic sanitary facilities in schools, a lack of dormitories for girls in rural areas, and the long distances that some girls must walk in order to attend school and the subsequent increased risk of violence they face during this journey.

There are a number of indirect costs associated with sending a child to school, including transport, books, and stationary, and parents with limited means may give priority to boys’ education over the education of girls. 

High rates of adolescent pregnancies are believed to cause a number of girls to drop-out of school, although exact data on this is not publicly available. The draft 2014 Education Act states that no one may be refused admission or treated less favourably in schools and
tertiary education institutes on the basis of their gender or pregnancy status.