Local Govt Women
In the Pacific, available statistics show that although female participation at local government levels occur, the numbers clearly show that more work on encouraging female representation through institutional means at least is needed. The Commonwealth Local Government Forum Pacific team in the Pacific is one of the leading organisations in the region that supports efforts on promoting women’s leadership at local government level. CLGF supports the Pacific Women in Local Government Network. The statistics in the table below is continuously being updated. If you can provide more information about women’s participation in sub-national governments in any Pacific Island country, please contact us at isikeli.valemei@undp.org.
| Country |
Women Elected Representatives
|
Women Chairs
|
||||
|
Elected Reps Total (#)
|
Total Elected
Women (#) |
Elected Women (%)
|
Chairs/Heads
Total (#) |
Women Chairs/Heads (#)
|
Women Chairs/Heads (%)
|
|
| Cook Islands: 10 Outer Island Local Governments |
65 | 5 | 7.7% | 10 Mayors (only 9 popularly elected) |
1 |
10% |
| Fiji* 12 Municipalities (2005 elections) |
158 | 23 | 14.5% |
12 Mayors |
0 |
0% |
| FSM 4 State Governments |
85 | 2 | 2.3% | 4 Governors | 0 | 0 |
| Kiribati: 20 Island Councils 3 Urban Councils |
233 | 10 | 4.3% | 23 | 2 | 8.7% |
| Marshall Islands 14 Village Councils |
63 | 23 | 36.5% | |||
| Nauru | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Niue | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Palau 16 State Governments |
16 Governors | 4 | 25% | |||
| PNG** National Capital District Council 20 Provincial Assemblies 26 Urban LLGs |
14
–
6138
|
0
–
35 (tbc) |
0%
–
0.5% (tbc) |
1 Governor
20 Governors
313 Presidents (now popularly elected) |
0
–
– |
0%
–
– |
|
Autonomous Region of Bougainville 2 Urban Councils 40 Councils of Elders |
9 528 |
0 50 |
0% 9.4% |
2 40 |
0 0 |
0% 0% |
| Samoa 286 Village Councils |
||||||
| Solomon Islands: Honiara City Council 9 Provincial Councils |
19 39 |
0 5 |
0 12.8 |
|||
| Tonga: Town and District Offices |
179 | 1 | 0.6 | |||
| Tuvalu: 8 Kaupule Councils |
48 | 4 | 8.3 | |||
| Vanuatu:*** 2 Municipalities 6 Provinces |
26 99 |
2 5 |
7.7 5.1 |
|||
| * elected local councils suspended and then replaced by appointments from 2006 to present | ||||||
| ** supposed to elect one woman to each Provincial Council (21 Provinces + NCD) | ||||||
| *** Local governments suspended as of 9 March 2012 | ||||||
Source: UNDP, UNWomen, CLGF & UCLG (2011) ‘Women’s Representation in Local Government in Asia Pacific Status – Report 2010‘