A recent report from the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Private Sector Initiative has revealed that men continue to dominate leadership positions in Fiji, holding approximately six out of every seven CEO roles and nine out of ten board chair positions. The report, titled “Leadership Matters 2024: Benchmarking Women in Business Leadership in the Pacific,” assesses the advances in women’s representation as board directors and executives in 14 Pacific nations.
Despite some progress, Fiji ranks the lowest in the Pacific for women’s representation in leadership roles. Sarah Boxall, the report’s author and an expert in women’s economic empowerment at PSDI, commented on the findings, stating that while there have been improvements, they remain below the regional average across all leadership roles.
Boxall emphasized the need to acknowledge the ongoing gender disparities present in the data and called for persistent efforts to reach equal representation in leadership positions in Fiji and beyond. The report highlights that, while Fiji has seen modest gains, men still predominantly occupy leadership roles in the corporate sector.
The report was unveiled at a graduation ceremony in Suva for 25 women who completed the Senior Executive Women in Leadership Program, a collaboration between the Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants and PSDI. Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya, underscored in her speech that women’s leadership is crucial for the sustainability and progress of Fiji.
Key findings indicate that the average percentage of women directors in Fiji increased from 20% in 2021 to 25% in 2024, although this figure still falls short of the regional average of 26%. The proportion of women CEOs in the Pacific overall rose from 13% to 20%, while Fiji saw only a slight increase from 10% to 13% in female CEOs.