The Fiji Bureau of Statistics on March 8 released the full 2023–2024 Employment and Unemployment Survey report, one day after International Women’s Day, laying bare a sizable underutilised pool of female talent amid employer demand for skilled workers and leaders. The new data show the national unemployment rate at 5.7 percent, with women disproportionately affected at 7.4 percent, and female youth unemployment exceeding 18 percent. Women account for 39.4 percent of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
The survey paints a picture of a skills-rich but under-engaged female population. Women make up roughly half of Fiji’s working-age population but only 36.2 percent of the labour force. Among women in the labour force, 32.4 percent hold tertiary qualifications — notably higher than the 22 percent share for men — yet women hold approximately 21 percent of board positions and own about 19 percent of formally registered businesses. Those gaps stand in stark contrast to targets set under Fiji’s National Development Plan 2025–2029, which aims for 60 percent female workforce participation by 2030, 50 percent of registered MSMEs to be women‑owned by 2029, 30 percent female representation in Parliament, and 50 percent representation on commercial and non‑commercial boards.
The findings underscore both an economic opportunity and a policy challenge. Private sector employers struggling to fill skilled roles could tap into a well-qualified pool of women if structural barriers are addressed. The report highlights the prevalence of female economic activity in informal sectors — agriculture, fisheries, handicrafts, tourism and market vending — where many women generate livelihoods but often remain outside formal systems for financing, capacity building and market access.
The survey release renews attention on measures that advocates and policymakers have been promoting: workplace flexibility, family‑friendly leave policies, incentives for formalisation of women’s enterprises and targeted support for women entrepreneurs. Initiatives already operating in Fiji — such as the Women Entrepreneurs and Executives Network Advisory Platform (WEENAP) and the WIN Convention — are presented in the report as examples of platforms helping women scale businesses and access leadership pathways. The report also points to policy levers like paternity leave and incentivised flexible work arrangements that could reduce care‑related exits and encourage retention.
The timing of the report follows other local examples of flexible employment strategies being used to manage staffing shortages. In February, the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji reported using flexible working arrangements and other non‑salary benefits to retain and attract staff amid a tight labour market. That experience may offer practical lessons for other employers seeking to broaden recruitment and retention of women.
Political representation remains a parallel front. Proposals such as a 30 percent gender quota for party nominations have been tabled in recent years as part of broader efforts to boost women’s participation in decision‑making — an ambition that aligns with the National Development Plan’s parliamentary target. The bureau’s new data give fresh urgency to those discussions by quantifying the gap between female educational attainment and economic and leadership outcomes.
With clear targets on the national agenda and a high proportion of qualified women outside or marginal to the formal labour market, the report signals an immediate policy and business opportunity: mobilise existing female talent through reforms, incentives and workplace practices that translate skills and education into paid, formal roles and leadership positions.
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