Samoa National Policy for Gender Equality 2016 – 2020.

The National Policy for Gender Equality is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The timeframe of this Policy is 5 years between 2016 and 2020. The purpose of this Policy is to provide a comprehensive framework for accelerating and enhancing gender equality and the well-being of women in Samoa, in accordance with the "Sustainable Development Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls". The main areas of this Policy are: peaceful families and communities; healthy women and girls; equal economic opportunities for women; increased access to education; enhanced gender equality approaches to community resilience and disaster preparedness; and enhanced institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality.
Sustainable use and protection of natural resources will be ensured to maintain local and traditional agriculture and marine resources in order to ensure food security. To this end, the role of women in preservation and use of natural resources will be strengthened. Furthermore, measures will be taken to reduce food importation and promote traditional and subsistence food production systems.
Sustainable development will be ensured with a gender-sensitive approach. Equal access of all women and girls to opportunities that guarantee their full participation in, and benefit from, the sustainable development of Samoa will be provided. The cooperation between the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development, and the government partners, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society partners will be strengthened to achieve gender equality at all levels. Gender equity will be mainstreamed into sectoral policies. Institutional capacity will be increased for efficient and effective data collection, policy analysis and research to better inform policy and programming. Women will be empowered in the fields of development, domestic violence, health, economy, job creation, decision-making, climate change adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction and management, environmental protection, food security, and sectoral policies. The health status of women and girls will be improved by promoting a healthy lifestyle and reducing women's risks for non-communicable diseases. The economic resilience of women, young people’s and specific vulnerable groups will be increased through support for entrepreneurship and pathways to jobs. Economic empowerment will be ensured to enable women advance economically and control and make decisions in relation to economic resources and the benefits derived from them. To this end, micro-credit initiatives will be provided to micro-businesses with a gender-sensitive approach. Skills development will be supported for vulnerable populations including women and young people through Technical Vocational Education and Training. The representation of women in public life and decision-making will be increased to encourage the participation of women in family, village and church decision-making. Access to and participation in schools will be supported through the production of gender sensitive information and education curriculum.
Community resilience to disasters will be increased through government response and preparedness programmes for the adverse impacts of climate change. Climate change adaptation and mitigation will be ensured for environmental sustainability, protection of natural resources, income generation, and food security.
The Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development has the primary responsibility for mainstreaming gender equity and social inclusion across public and private sectors. In order to effectively implement the new Community Sector Plan and the National Policy on Gender Equality, institutional capacity building will be strengthened in gender analysis, programme design and monitoring & evaluation.