Economic Empowerment of Women
We work to remove the barriers that limit women’s participation in Pacific economies.
Economies grow faster with women’s full participation. However, discriminatory laws, social norms, and customary practices, as well as low control over assets, low levels of support and a lack of awareness about how to start a business are limiting the ability of Pacific women to engage in business activities to the same extent as men.
Women are economically disadvantaged in the Pacific region. Discriminatory laws, social norms, and customary practices, alongside low control over assets, low levels of support, and a lack of awareness about how to start a business limit Pacific women’s ability to engage in business activities to the same extent as men.
PSDI’s economic empowerment of women works to clear pathways for women to enter the formal economy, focusing on:
- the creation of new businesses by women that generate economic activity in both urban centers and rural areas;
- the expansion of the formal labor market;
- the enrichment of business leadership through the participation of women who bring different skills and perspectives;
- higher business productivity, on which long-term growth depends; and
- the improvement of women’s confidence and autonomy to contribute to their communities.
These considerations inform all of PSDI’s work in developing policy frameworks, introducing legal reforms, mainstreaming gender into all programs, and evaluating pilot programs.
Economic Empowerment of Women and COVID-19
For more information on PSDI's Economic Empowerment of Women focus area and COVID-19, click here.
Economic Empowerment of Women at a glance
Women and Business
More women on SOE boards
Leadership potential realized
Latest News
In Samoa, more than 30 representatives of Samoan government ministries, state-owned enterprises, private-sector companies, and nongovernment organizations convened on July 7 2022 to launch Leadership Matters, and discuss ways to support women in business leadership. Watch the video.
PSDI, in partnership with the Vanuatu Department of Women’s Affairs (DWA) through the Ministry of Justice and Community Services, on 31 August 2022 hosted almost 40 government, business, and civil society figures at a roundtable event in Port Vila to discuss Leadership Matters. Watch the video.
More than 30 people convened on 8 April 2022 in Majuro to discuss Leadership Matters, and the ways in which barriers to women’s full economic participation endure in the Marshall Islands and across the Pacific. Watch the video.
PSDI on 19 July 2022 hosted almost 30 representatives of Cook Islands government ministries, state-owned enterprises, private-sector companies, and nongovernment organizations for the launch of Leadership Matters: Benchmarking Women in Business Leadership in the Pacific. Watch the video
Key Publications
