60 Naduri women trained to launch their own businesses

60 women of Naduri in Cakaudrove have been empowered to start their own businesses after undergoing a weeklong women's economic empowerment training.

While closing training, Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Lynda Tabuya says the commitment to ensure women have equal opportunities and rights is especially crucial in Fiji where cultural norms and traditional beliefs act as barriers to women being able to participate in Fiji's economic development.

She says many Fijian women are still unable to achieve true economic empowerment because of social, religious and cultural norms that dictate women’s participation in the economy, resource inheritance and ownership, financial autonomy and independence, and home and family care burden to name a few.

Tabuya says over the years, there has been a strong push to create, support and strengthen women engaged in micro, small and medium enterprises businesses as a critical pathway to advance women’s economic empowerment and gender equality globally, and in Fiji.

She says women in Fiji are around 50 percent of the total population and yet are poorly represented in the economy and underrepresented in business.

The Minister says only 19 percent of registered MSMEs are owned by women and according to the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service statistics, women owned only 27 percent of tax-paying businesses in 2018.

She further says women's participation in the formal economy and labour force is significantly lower than that of men, with most working Fijian women engaged in informal employment that lacks job security, provides irregular income, and offers no social protection.

Tabuya says the one-week training addresses the Government’s commitment towards iTaukei communities on good governance in utilizing available resources to earn income and promote the well-being and economic empowerment of its people.

She adds women can make a difference and break the barrier of traditional beliefs and norms by operating their businesses from the comfort of their homes or expanding their existing businesses and providing employment to those around them.