Pacific women MPs come together in NZ
Women MPs from across the Pacific will meet at Parliament next week to discuss female representation in politics.
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Women MPs from across the Pacific will meet at Parliament next week to discuss female representation in politics.
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Pacific region gender and democracy seminar will run from Sunday to Tuesday, with the theme of "women as agents of change".
Attendees include women MPs and candidates from Bougainville, the Cook Islands, Niue, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tonga.
Less than 4 percent of all elected representatives in the Pacific region are women.
CWP New Zealand co-chairwomen Jackie Blue and Carmel Sepuloni said that figure was "abysmal" compared to other regions.
Women across the region shared significant inequalities that needed to be overcome by ensuring women had meaningful representation, they said in a statement.
"Having more women MPs means that there will be greater prioritisation of women's issues on the political agenda and in policy development."
The seminar's topics will include campaigning, the role of NGOs in increasing female participation, media training, and practical sessions on parliamentary business and drafting bills.
Parliamentary Speaker Lockwood Smith said a report from the seminar would hopefully become a road-map for women seeking election.
NZPA
Fri, 25 Mar 2011
Fri, 25 Mar 2011
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Pacific women MPs come together in NZ
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