By John Davidson, Minister Counsellor for Development at the Australian High Commission in Suva, Fiji
Supporting Pacific women to better access economic opportunities, to grow their businesses and to help provide for their families is vital for achieving equality in the region. International Women's Day is an opportune time to reflect on the progress we have already seen and celebrate the successes of the Pacific's many female entrepreneurs, leaders and caregivers.
Australia is working together with Pacific countries, striving for the full and free participation of Pacific women in economic, political and social life.
We are helping women access banks for the first time, giving them the chance to save money and improve their lives. Women like Makereta in Fiji–a self-employed single mother of four benefitting from financial assistance through Fiji's Department of Social Welfare.
In 2010, with financial and technical support from the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, Fiji introduced a system whereby welfare recipients were paid, for the first time, through a bank account. This initiative, supported by Australia and the UN Capital Development Fund, meant that recipients were provided with Westpac bank accounts.
Makareta was one of 23,500 social welfare clients who had never had a bank account before. As a result she has been able to better track her spending, budget her finances, and ultimately invest more in herself and her family.
Similarly, Tommie is a subsistence farmer from the rural Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. She used to keep her earnings buried in the ashes of the fireplace where she cooked food for her family. Saving was difficult and she often needed to dig up the hearth to meet family needs.
However, following a presentation by Nationwide Microbank in her local market, Tommie made the decision to open a bank account. She now plans to use her savings to cover her grandchildren's school fees.
Nationwide Microbank, with support from Australia and the Asian Development Bank, launched an innovative mobile phone-linked bank account called MiCash in 2011. MiCash allows customers to deposit and withdraw funds from over 150 agents and branches across previously underserved rural areas. Over 37 per cent of the 12,000 MiCash subscribers are women – an encouraging figure which we expect to see increase.
Australia is assisting women like Makereta and Tommie to financially stand on their own two feet through a number of initiatives across the Pacific. For instance, we are supporting female entrepreneurs to formally register their businesses. A registered business means that owners can go to the bank to take out a loan and expand their operations. It means they have legal security in the case of a dispute so their rights and their employees' rights are protected.
It used to be that women in Solomon Islands needed a man's signature in order to register their business and formalise their operations. The Private Sector Development Initiative, funded by Australia, New Zealand and the Asian Development Bank, supported the Government of Solomon Islands to reform its Companies Act and make the business registration process easier for women to navigate.
As part of the reforms, women and women's community groups were provided with advice and training. Since the new Companies Act became effective in 2010, more than 1000 new companies have registered. There has been a 60 per cent increase in the number of companies owned by at least one female shareholder and a 57 per cent increase in the number of female company directors.
Rose was one of many Solomon Islander women to attend a Companies Act information session. She returned home, briefed her neighbours on what she heard, and the group subsequently decided to form a community company that could start projects to benefit their entire village. After receiving organic farming training through an Australian-funded program, Rose now grows a variety of vegetables and supplies a local hotel with produce. More registered companies mean a stronger private sector, which means more jobs can be created. And this is something that benefits us all.
Australia is proud of what we have achieved in partnership with Pacific island countries. Society benefits when women have equal access to financial services, to information, and to business and leadership opportunities. The Australian aid program is a strong supporter of a range of activities aimed at enabling women to meet their full potential in helping to realise the development aspirations of their communities. These stories are a testament to what can be accomplished when Pacific women are given the opportunity to thrive.
This opinion-editorial appeared in the Fiji Times on Friday 7 March 2014 and the Island Sun in Solomon Islands on Monday 10 March 2014 for International Women's Day.
More information
- Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme
- Private Sector Development Initiative
- Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development
- Australia's Regional Pacific aid program