Improving the electoral chances of Melanesian women: an evidence-based approach

Nowhere in the world is the under-representation of women in leadership positions, especially in formal politics, more acute than in the Pacific islands region. Just one in 20 Pacific parliamentarians are women. While 2016 saw some significant progress in this area Hilda Heine of Marshall Islands won the presidency in January, Fiame Naomi Mataafa of Samoa was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in March, and the number of Pacific states with no women in their lower (or only) houses of parliament was halved from four to two the region still has the dubious distinction of having the lowest level of womens representation in the world. In the Melanesian states of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, just four out of 213 (2 per cent) parliamentarians are women.