Westpac Fiji has launched the 2026 round of its flagship Women and Girls Education Grants, unveiling a new campaign theme and detailed application topics for primary, secondary and tertiary learners. The program — which awards 30 education grants each year — will run under the theme “Balance the Scales: Empowering Fijian Women and Girls through Education” and offers tiered grants of $500 for primary school students, $1,000 for secondary students and $2,500 for tertiary or adult learners.
Established in 2002, Westpac Fiji says the long-running initiative has supported more than 400 women and girls and invested in excess of $300,000 to help recipients pursue academic and professional goals. Shane Smith, Westpac Fiji’s chief executive, said the 2026 grants reflect the bank’s “deep belief that investing in women and girls creates lasting benefits for Fiji and our local communities.” He added the bank is proud to back those who are “determined to pursue their goals, strengthen their communities and inspire others along the way.”
For 2026 Westpac has specified the topics and formats applicants must use, tailoring entry requirements to age and education level. Primary school entrants will submit a poster accompanied by a 200-word description showing “what a safe and equal world for girls looks like” based on their own experiences. Secondary students can choose an essay, poster or video up to 500 words (or equivalent), addressing what “Balance the Scales” means in their Fiji community and proposing one local action young people can take to make girls safer and stronger. Tertiary and adult learners are asked to submit a 1,500-word essay examining real barriers seen in Fiji schools and society and how learning programmes can break discrimination, build rights awareness and ensure access to justice for women.
Westpac highlighted the tangible impact of the grants by pointing to past recipients. Avisha Narayan, a Sabeto resident and one of the 30 Women and Girls Education Grant recipients in 2025, is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science. Narayan said the grant helped cover tuition fees and gave her “an avenue to speak my mind,” illustrating how small bursaries can support both study costs and increased participation.
The 2026 program’s explicit focus on “balancing the scales” and the inclusion of creative submission formats such as posters and videos signal an effort to engage younger learners and encourage community-focused, practical responses to gender inequality. By setting clear topic prompts and entry formats, Westpac aims to surface locally grounded ideas from girls and women across Fiji at different education levels.
Westpac continues to position the grants as part of its broader community work in Fiji, saying the programme extends the bank’s role beyond traditional banking into social investment. The annual awards have remained small in number but targeted in scope, offering support at critical points in educational pathways from primary school through to tertiary study and adult learning.
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