Fiji National Gender Policy.

The Fiji National Gender Policy is a national policy with a cross-cutting approach. The goal of this policy is to promote gender equity, equality, social justice and sustainable development in the Republic of Fiji. The policy aims to improve the quality of life of men, women, boys and girls, at all levels of society through the promotion of gender equity and equality, reinforce the inextricable links between gender equality and sustainable development goals in national development, promote active and visible gender mainstreaming in all sectors and within civil society to ensure agency for gender equity and equality in all spheres of national life, and remove all forms of gender inequality and gender discrimination in Fiji.
Agriculture, rural development, and environment will become more productive and sustainable through a wider participation of women in all levels of decision-making including issues of land rentals, applications for financing from banks and financial institutions, and the distribution of rental and lease monies under the Land Use Decree 2011. Awareness will be promoted for environmental sensitivity, climate change impacts and disaster risks and the role of men and women at all levels in facilitating the harmonious and sustainable use of the country’s limited natural resources, and the utilization of gender impact assessments, gender analysis and gender aware approaches in assessing environmental issues and on the utilization, exploitation and preservation of natural resources in Fiji through training and continuous monitoring.
Poverty reduction will be ensured through enhanced labor and employment, which in turn will be promoted through the removal of legal barriers to the equitable participation of men and women; new and revised legislation mandating gender equity in hiring, promotion, salaries, separation and other conditions of work; establishment of institutional mechanisms to effectively monitor and promote equal employment opportunities; evaluation of existing labour policies and establishment of new ones which promote women’s economic empowerment, including policies which reduce the need for women to transact sex for money, thereby increasing their exposure to the transmission of HIV and other STI’s; advancing wider workforce participation by men and women through the promotion of gender sensitive institutional arrangements which facilitate the balancing of men and women’s private and public gender roles and responsibilities; such as flexible working hours, and increased access to quality child care facilities, etc.
Other activities will be designed to strengthen equitable access by men and women to the factors of agricultural production, paying particular attention to the gender differences in access to and repayment of credit, beneficiaries of land purchase, land titling, amenities, extension services and technology, taking into consideration the disadvantaged position of the most vulnerable women in rural areas.
A periodic National Gender Policy evaluation of various activities shall be done to ensure that each of the parties named in the Policy is taking effective steps to implement the relevant policies assigned to them. Monitoring of the National Gender Policy will take the form of a meeting every 4 years to which various stakeholders will be invited to report on progress. This is to be in line with Fiji’s CEDAW reporting mechanism. This meeting will be convened by the Ministry of National and Strategic Planning in collaboration with the Ministry for Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation. The Ministry of National and Strategic Planning will be responsible for providing monitoring guidelines which will be used to collect information in government departments, private sector organizations and non-governmental organisations. The findings and recommendations from these reviews will be used to monitor and evaluate the Policy review process. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation will produce and disseminate periodic reports and publications on progress indicators in the implementation of the National Gender Policy.