Govt recognizes in the medium and longer term, women will need to be central to Fiji’s economic recovery plans – Poole

Permanent Secretary for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Jennifer Poole says the government recognizes that in the medium and longer term, women in Fiji will need to be central to Fiji’s economic recovery plans, particularly in the fields of tourism, transport, manufacturing and agricultural sectors where there is a considerable percentage of women in the workforce.

While speaking during the launch of Certificate IV in Project Management Practice for Women in collaboration with USAID Ready, Poole says women owned or led Medium and Small enterprises also play a critical role in inclusive and sustainable development and therefore, need to be supported to bear the impact of the pandemic.

She says the COVID-19 situation is affecting women and girls disproportionately, with women at increased risk of infection, intimate partner violence, job losses and vulnerable work scenarios.

Poole adds this is coupled with limited social protections and less access to formal safety nets, less access to finance and loans, and with increased burden of unpaid care work, loss of livelihoods and having less access to reproductive health services.

Poole says COVID-19 will greatly amplify these existing inequalities, and the longer term impact of COVID-19 on women’s health, family health, diet and nutrition could be considerable.

She further says the Fijian Constitution protects the rights of all Fijians, including women, to full and free participation in economic life and government’s 5 and 20 year National Development Plan recognizes that the potential of Fijian women ought to be fully harnessed for nation building and commits to promoting women’s leadership, education and overall economic development.