Most Pacific island women don’t work. The World Bank wants to change that

Outdated laws and social norms keep 57 per cent of working-age women across the Pacific out of the labour force, the bank says

Reading Time:2 minutes

A fisherman casts his net into a lagoon in the Pacific nation of the Cook Islands. The gender gap exists despite women attaining similar education levels as men, the report said. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:03pm, 17 Jun 2025

Less than half of working-age women are employed across Pacific island nations due to outdated laws and other barriers, the World Bank said in a new report on Tuesday.

The World Bank economic update for the Pacific, which said closing the gender gap could boost economic growth, also forecast regional growth slowing to 2.6 per cent this year, down from 5.5 per cent in 2023.

With 57 per cent or around 500,000 women not in work across the Pacific, the report said boosting female participation to the same level as men could lift the region’s gross domestic product by 22 per cent by increasing household incomes and supporting private sector growth.

In Fiji, the biggest Pacific island economy, the boost to GDP could be 30 per cent, it said.

A stallholder displays her wares to tourists at a market on Rarotonga in the Pacific nation of the Cook Islands earlier this month. Photo: AFP

The gender gap in the labour market exists despite women attaining similar education levels as men and could be partly attributed to social norms, the report said.

Six countries did not have paid parental leave, often forcing women to leave the labour force when they started families, it said.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x