Women in Government in Solomon Islands: A diagnostic study

Women in Government in Solomon Islands: A diagnostic study

This study is an examination of the barriers preventing a voice for women in the legislature looking at how a traditional belief in ‘big man’ leadership results in a perception that the national realm of public decision-making is to be exclusively male.  The study considers how women are engaged as peacemakers and have obtained certain forms of recognition through dedicated government and civil society women's agencies, yet are hindered by fragmentation and disconnect between the village-level and the government. The Diagnostic Study found that a absence of a common vision for the advancement of women and constraints encountered in the electoral system, electoral process and during the campaign period are systemic and traditional obstacles. The Study offers details of women's experiences of the same, as well as recommendations for necessary change.