IB2016/31 Women's Livelihoods in Honiara Settlements

The gender disparities in employment in Solomon Islands are well documented (see ADB 2015). This In Brief describes recent research on womens informal urban livelihoods and economic participation.1 It forms part of the SSGM project Honiara Urbanisation: Managing Change, Harnessing Opportunities, which aims to better inform donors and policymakers about development priorities, opportunities, and prospects by engaging with a range of stakeholders, including settlement communities. From August to September 2016, the authors partnered with World Vision Solomon Islands to conduct five focus groups with a total of 50 women aged 1865 from Sun Valley, White River, and Lord Howe settlements.2 The findings reflect the complexities of womens livelihoods, which encompass not just engagement with the labour market, but traditional gender roles in the urban family and community, and networking and associations such as lending schemes and savings clubs.