Pacific women face challenges from childhood to workplace

The president of a Pacific women’s organisation says it’s a shame that more Pacific women are experiencing discrimination in their early years.

PACIFICA Inc President Repeka Lelaulu’s comments follow last week’s launch of the Wellbeing Report - Voices from Pacific Women and Girls in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Lelaulu told Pacific Mornings that they recognised the lack of data around women and girls who identify as Pasifika and wanted to do something about it.

“Our organisation could be able to highlight the economic and social status of our Pacific women.

“The thinking was that we could develop a report that would provide those audiences with a view of Pacific women and girls in Aotearoa.”

The online survey by PACIFICA gathered data from 173 females living in New Zealand who identify as being of Pacific ethnicity aged from 13 to 78 years old.

Alongside the survey, there were also two talanoa sessions in Auckland and Wellington.

The report identified three key themes of challenges that respondents identified, including clash of cultures, the biases faced being Pacific and female and the socioeconomic hardship that followed.

Lelaulu says it’s a shame that these experiences are being experienced at a young age for Pacific women and it continues into the workforce.

“That’s why there’s a big need for us to come out with this report… it’s not new but for us it’s learning to come together and to be able to voice those concerns and to be confident enough to do so,” she says.

Lelaulu says solutions to the issues raised in the report include having more Pacific women at the decision-making tables.

“In order for us to be able to do that, we need to be equipped and that’s what we’re working on.

“Greater access to mentoring resources, funding and drawing on those skill sets within our collective community.”

Watch the full interview with Repeka Lelaulu on Pacific Mornings: