PACIFIC: More Pacific Girl Power Could Go a Long Way

For a young Pacific girl born in the 70s, Pacific women were much more likely to be cleaning the parliamentary loos than sitting on the benches.

But in 1999, when Winnie Laban became the first Pacific woman MP in New Zealand, it dawned on me that the ads I had seen on telly that said "Girls can do anything" also included me, even if I was a Pacific Islander.

Her achievement was even more momentous considering the Pacific countries we come from continue to have the lowest number of women MPs of any region in the world. Tuvalu, for example, has had only one woman MP in its 31 years of independence.

At present, there are no women MPs in Tuvalu, nor in Nauru, Micronesia or the Solomon Islands. Last week, in the Solomon Islands' elections, 18 women stood among just over 500 candidates. Not a single one of them was voted in.

Around the Pacific, the introduction of temporary parliamentary seats for women has been proposed as a short-term measure to ensure women's voices are included in national decision- making. No surprises that this idea has been almost unanimously shot down in male-dominated parliaments.

Only Bougainville has allocated 10 per cent of the seats for women.

At present in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Kiribati, less than 5 per cent of MPs are women. Samoa's female representation sits at 8.2 per cent and it peaks in the Cook Islands at 12.5 per cent.

I remember once having a conversation with Ms Laban, in which she talked about how challenging it could be operating in constantly male-dominated forums of Pacific elites.

I didn't realise at the time how stacked the odds actually were. I have certainly come across "the boys" in my travels. They're not difficult to spot, often with aristocratic and chiefly lineage, Oxford accents, silver spoons in their mouths and too many fine mats under their beds.

When it comes to kava bowl currency, there's just no comparison with a girl born in New Zealand, growing up on working-class streets. No-one passes you leadership on a woven platter here.

It's all sweat, smarts and service. For the most part, your cultural capital is too complicated, mixed up or misunderstood to get you very far.

Yet somewhat surprisingly, Ms Laban's former electorate of Mana, or to be more precise, Porirua city, has long been a fertile breeding ground for politically active Pacific women.

In 1982, Tongan Elaine 'Ulu'ave- Annandale was the first Pacific person elected to Porirua City Council, where she served for 13 years.
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Jasmine Underhill, from the Cook Islands, was elected to the council in 1986 and was deputy mayor within three years, holding the position until 2001.

There are two Pacific women now serving on the council - Samoan Deputy Mayor Litea Ah Hoi and councillor Taima Fagaloa.

I'm not sure if there's something in the water in Porirua, but if there is, it tastes like the sweet success of participating in governance and decision-making. And rather depressingly, few Pacific women anywhere sip from that coveted cup.

What I find interesting is that, when it comes to investment, micro-finance and aid in the region, it is often Pacific women who are seen to be the better bet.

Recently, Trade Me founder Sam Morgan invested $700,000 in a Pacific Island-based micro-finance company that lends capital exclusively to women wanting to start their own businesses.

South Pacific Business Development founder Gregory Casagrande explained that the company lent money only to women because "they reinvest in their kids' education and home improvements".

In contrast, he said: "The men tend to spend a bit on cigarettes and alcohol. One dollar yields more return from women than men." Hmm, as Hillary Clinton once quoted: "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.

If you teach a woman to fish, the impact is even greater."

In the overfished waters of the world's largest ocean, I have to say that a bit more girl power could go a long way.