"Private sector progress in women’s leadership in the Pacific", 8 March 2021

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Preliminary data, collected as part of an ongoing study into Pacific women’s leadership in business by the Asian Development Banks’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative, finds the Pacific compares favourably with global averages across many measures of leadership. The study measures women’s representation on boards and senior management positions in over 200 Pacific private sector organisations.

While varying significantly between countries and sectors, the average Pacific regional proportion of women on boards is 22%, exceeding the global average of just 17%. Some sectors are higher. In financial and ICT organisations, 24% of board members are women, and in industry associations (such as tourism associations), 31% of board members are women. The Cook Islands, Palau and Samoa all have over 30% representation of women on boards. Women hold 30% of senior management positions in the organisations studied, consistent with the global average. In the Cook Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, the proportion of women in senior management was over 30%.

Progress is particularly evident among the companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX). Women’s representation on SPX-listed boards rose from 12% in 2017 to 24% in 2020, and the number of companies with no women directors fell from 63% to 11%. Four of the 19 listed companies now have gender-equal or majority women boards, including one woman board chair. ...

While the private sector remains small in many Pacific countries, these findings are significant because they suggest a growing commitment among the region’s private sector organisations to address the persistent challenges women face in reaching leadership positions. ...

[Companies Mark One Apparel, Pleass Beverage, Tonga Power Limited are also mentioned in the report.]