Visiting Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles announced the funding to the Solomon Islands Women in Business Association (SIWIBA) in Honiara today.
The
funding will establish the SIWIBA’s Secretariat including office rental and salary
for a full-time coordinator.
Mr
Marles said Australia’s
support to SIWIBA reinforces Australia’s
broader commitment to supporting women’s economic empowerment and leadership in
the Pacific.
“This
contribution is part of a long term partnership between AusAID’s Pacific
Leadership Program and SIWIBA to develop
opportunities for all women of Solomon Islands to participate in business at
all levels” Mr Marles said.
“It
has been found that when the gender gap between men and women in the workforce
narrows, economies tend to grow faster, experience less poverty and the
wellbeing of men, women and children is all enhanced, so it’s important that we
do as much as we can to remove barriers for women to be active at all levels of
society.”
President
of SIWIBA, Julie Gegeu-Haro said SIWIBA is working to promote, develop and
empower women's participation in economic activities in the private sector in Solomon Islands.
“There is little question of the large role that women make to our community, but this is taken for granted and largely unsupported. For example, the annual turnover of the Honiara Central market has been estimated between US$10-$16 million, with women responsible for 90% of this activity,” Ms Gegeu-Haro said.
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