A ground-breaking Report (“Beyond 33%: The Economic Empowerment of Fiji Women and Girls”) by Professor Wadan Narsey (Adjunct Professor at James Cook University) was launched in March by the Australian High Commissioner to Fiji (Mr John Williams) for the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM).

The Report is solidly based on official data sources such as the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Fiji Revenue and Customs Services and Fiji National Provident Fund. The Report documents that women and girls in Fiji are 34% of the Paid Labour Force, they do 73% of Unpaid Work and 54% of all work by hours, paid and unpaid.  While Females are 34% of the Paid Labour Force, they receive only 30% of Total Incomes because of a large gender gap of -14% in average incomes. Females own only 35% of Total Superannuation funds in Fiji.  The Report documents how women and girls have fewer hours to devote to leisure activities.

The Report shows that some progress is being made, but far too slowly. The Report gives a wide range of Recommendations for Women and Girls to close the gaps in paid work, in unpaid household work and in leisure activities like sports. The full Report may be downloaded here. The Report was supported by the Australian Government through the We Rise Coalition

Top image: Nalini Singh (Director FWRM), Kiran Nath (Assistant Minister for Women), His Excellency John Williams (Australian High Commissioner to Fiji) and friends of FWRM. Image supplied.