New Report by ADB shows Rise of Pacific Women in Business

A new report has been published by Asian Development Bank that mentions increasing number of pacific women taking leadership roles in business but discrimination persists. The report has been published during the Leadership Matters series’ second edition.

It states that women directors’ average proportion in the pacific has increased by 5% i.e., 21% in 2021 to 26% in 2024. Regions like Cook Islands, Kiribati, Samoa and Tuvalu measures higher proportion of female directors as well ass chief executives while Fiji and Papua New Guinea haven’t met the regional average.

Higher education is the key reason behind this surge, says Sarah Boxall, the author of the report. She states, “we are seeing in the Pacific women are increasingly well educated, they are graduating from university at a higher rate, we know as well from our survey that women in the Pacific are very ambitious.”

She added, “We are seeing [businesses] putting in place targets 30 percent, representation of women, they are putting in place policies that support women in the organisation; this can be flexible work arrangements, helping with transport and issues around childcare. We are starting to see a change in attitudes about women's capability. I think these are all contributing to increasing women in leadership in the Pacific.”