Women remain underrepresented despite international announcements and commitments.
This has been highlighted by the Permanent Secretary for Defence Mason Smith while launching the Barrier Assessment Project supported by the Elsie Initiative Fund through UN Women.
He says it remains hugely important for them to have the fund and the overall partnership to continue to act as a catalysts for change that is badly needed.
Mason says effective policy needs to be built upon a robust evidence-based understanding of the experiences of our beautiful women.
He says undertaking this barrier system will allow them to understand what the current barriers are to women's meaningful participation in peacekeeping operations and, within their organisations, more broadly.
He adds the measuring opportunities for women in peacekeeping methodology is currently a gold standard for uncovering structural and institutional factors that limit women's full contribution to the forces.
The Defence Permanent Secretary says these assessments will help ensure that the method is not only rigorous but analytical in depth.
Mason says he is confident that Fiji will be able to effectively utilize this method to learn what the current barriers are for women's meaningful participation in our forces.
He adds obtaining the understanding of the barriers will enable them to develop a policy roadmap for greater gender inclusion with achievable and meaningful targets.
He further adds that findings from this project will directly inform the Fiji Police Force and the RFMF in their first Women, Peace and Security Annual Plan for 2025-2029.
The Permanent Secretary says this will also shape reforms in aligning with the National Gender Policy, CEDAW and indeed the Beijing Declaration.
