2nd meeting of Pacific women leaders

Together with Samoan Deputy Prime Minister Fiame Namoi Mata’afa, we convened a second virtual meeting of Pacific women leaders today to discuss the significant impact of COVID-19 on women and girls in our region.

I welcome the valuable contributions from the impressive group of women ministers, members of parliament, senior officials and senior representatives of regional organisations. The bringing together of women from 18 countries across the Pacific generated constructive suggestions and great commitment to tackle the challenges that COVID-19 has brought for women and girls.

Our discussion focused on the vital role of women in the region’s economic recovery. Women’s economic security and empowerment is critical to achieving this ambition. Financial security and independence for women underpin strong and sustainable economies. Confident and capable women contribute to stronger economies, societies and cultures.

We also discussed emerging education challenges in the context of COVID-19. We recognised that effective mechanisms will be needed to support children to continue learning during COVID-19 and to keep girls in school now and into the future.

Women’s safety is paramount to building resilient societies, and we reaffirmed the importance of strengthening community, national and regional responses to family and domestic violence. We discussed support for civil society organisations to assist women and children at risk of, and experiencing, violence.

We committed to continuing our efforts nationally and regionally towards gender equality, prioritising health, safety and economic outcomes for women and girls.

These meetings bring together an inspirational group of women. I thank them all for their participation and I look forward to our next discussion.