Waves of Change: Pacific Women Lead Across Generations in Fiji

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Women leaders, ministers, youth advocates, parliamentarians and gender equality champions from across the Pacific gathered in Nadi, Fiji, for the WYDE | Women’s Leadership Regional Intergenerational Dialogue. Photo: UN Women/Maryann Lockington

From 30 September to 1 October 2025 in Nadi, Fiji.  Women leaders, youth activists, and policymakers from across the Pacific Islands gathered for a powerful two-day intergenerational dialogue aimed at advancing women’s participation in leadership and decision-making and transforming gender norms.

Organized under the Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) Women’s Leadership Initiative funded by the European Union, the convening created a dynamic space for knowledge exchange and coalition building. Participants reflected on the 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Pacific Platform for Action, using these milestones as inspiration to envision the future of women’s political leadership in the region.

The event opened with remarks from Eseta Nadakuitavuki, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection, Fiji, who highlighted both progress and setbacks in women’s leadership in Fiji and across the Pacific, underscoring the urgent need to accelerate change.

“Women will only participate fully when we also address the intersecting issues of gender-based violence, unpaid care work, economic exclusion and unequal access to communication,” said Ms. Nadakuitavuki.  Highlighting the persistent gender gap in political representation, UN Women Fiji MCO Representative Alison Davidian said at the opening of the WYDE convening: “The Pacific is not short of women leaders. What is missing are the systems, political will and accountability to ensure women’s leadership is recognised, respected and represented.” 

The dialogue proceeded with reflections on the historic Beijing and Pacific Platforms for Action, sparking inspiring exchanges between seasoned parliamentarians and young women leaders on the progress achieved and the gaps that remain. This intergenerational perspective set the tone for the convening, grounding it in lessons from the past and ambitions for the decades ahead. Youth Leader and Founder of She Leads Parliament, Elizabeth Kite from Tonga emphasized: “If we really believe in improving things for generations to come, we need to invest more in them and engage them more meaningfully.”

The session on social norms in the Pacific, led by Jennifer Kalpokas Doan, Executive Director for Balance of Power, unpacked how entrenched beliefs and “unwritten rules” continue to define leadership as a male domain. She identified common barriers in communities such as culture and religion which determine who can speak in village meetings or in churches thereby reinforcing double standards on political legitimacy. She highlighted however that “norms like culture are not stagnant – they change over time, they ebb and flow with the tide” and shared actionable strategies for social norms change, including starting at the family and household level, leveraging education systems and youth engagement, reclaiming culture and customs by going back to stories of equality in Pacific traditions, engaging faith leaders and male allies and finally amplifying women’s voices in media and community advocacy.

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Jennifer Kalpokas Doan, Executive Director for the Balance of Power initiative in the Pacific. Photo: UN Women/Maryann Lockington

Another discussion focused on building political will and strengthening coalitions to counter the pushback on women’s rights. Drawing from regional experiences, speakers highlighted how alliances among women parliamentarians, civil society, and youth activists can prevent and address gender-based violence in politics and create safe, enabling spaces for women to lead. Sophia Teio, a Youth Leader from Papua New Guinea shared how the traditional authority structures, clans and patriarchy often excludes young women from decision-making and highlights how critical the role of coalitions and networks is: “One young woman may struggle to move the needle, but when a coalition speaks with one voice, the message carries weight.”  Maatafa Faatino, a Disability Rights Advocate from Samoa reminded that networks and coalitions are essential when advocating for inclusion and accessibility to democratic processes. She encouraged her peers: “Leadership begins when you step up with courage. Do not be afraid to challenge the systems that exclude you.”

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Mataafa Faatino Utumapu, Disability Rights Advocate, General Manager of Nuanua O Le Alofa (NOLA), Samoa. Photo: UN Women/Maryann Lockington

The session on legal frameworks and special measures was led by Julie Ballington, UN Women Chief a.i for Leadership and Decision-Making, who noted that nearly half of the countries in the world have adopted electoral quotas, but that the Pacific region has the lowest uptake of quotas of any region. Samoa, for instance, is one of the few countries with reserved seats for women to correct imbalances in representation. The discussion noted that the strong advocacy by women’s groups to adopt special measures has been met with even stronger resistance against them, even though these mechanisms are empirically correlated with higher levels of women’s representation. Participants noted that political will at the highest levels is critical for defending existing special measures and legislating and implementing new ones.

Hon. Cathy Launa Nori Minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, Member of Parliament from Solomon Islands noted that “Temporary special measures are not about giving women a privilege. It is about correcting an imbalance that has kept women out of leadership for far too long.”

Hon. Cathy Launa Nori, Minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs and Member of Parliament, Solomon Islands. Photo: UN Women/Maryann Lockington

Mentoring sessions paired emerging young leaders with seasoned women politicians, providing opportunities for personal guidance, sharing of experiences and connection across generations. Mentorship was also deemed decisive by the last panel, which highlighted that mentoring can come in different forms, including through family legacies and parental mentorship, institutional safe spaces such as Young Women’s Parliamentary Groups or seasoned political figures in parties.

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Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau, Former Member of Parliament, Samoa and Hon. Rhonda Tiakia, Member of Parliament, Niue. Photo: UN Women/Maryann Lockington

Participants emphasized that transforming social norms, strengthening coalitions, and amplifying youth-led advocacy are essential for ensuring that women’s voices and leadership drive inclusive and sustainable democracies in the region. This regional dialogue marked an important step in building a more inclusive political future across the Pacific region.

WYDE | Women’s Leadership, funded by the European Union, is a collaborative global effort aimed at advancing women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially those most often left furthest behind. WYDE | Women’s Leadership is implemented by UN Women, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and is part of the Women and Youth Democratic Engagement initiative (WYDE), powered by the European Union, which seeks to empower and strengthen the rights, and participation in public and political life of women and youth as key actors of development and change.