The Waka Mere Commitment to Action is making positive strides in its efforts to promote business competitiveness and women’s empowerment in Solomon Islands.

On Tuesday 18 June 2019 Waka Mere participating companies shared their experiences in implementing ‘gender smart’ employment solutions that created more responsive opportunities for women while also contributing to business’ bottom lines, that is their productivity, and growth.

This was during a forum hosted by the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) and the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara.

It was an opportunity for Human Resource Officers, employees and members of the business community to learn from the Waka Mere participating companies about their challenges and the action they took in implementing measures to increase the share of women in leadership positions, building respectful and supportive workplaces for women and promoting opportunities for women in jobs traditionally held by men.

Employees, including women from participating companies represented on the leadership discussion including Bulkshop, GPPOL, National Fisheries Development (NFD), Solomon Airlines, Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA), Solomon Power and Soltuna, also shared their testimonies on how being part of Waka Mere has benefited them not only in their professional careers, but also their personal life.

There were also two separate panel discussions on domestic violence and promoting women in non-traditional jobs with presentations from Solomon Airlines, Bank South Pacific (BSP), NFD, Soltuna, Solomon Power and GPPOL who had taken part in these two Component Areas of the Waka Mere initiative.

IFC/SICCI Gender Coordinator, Ruth Maetala applauded the positive commitment shown by the business community to support a gender-balanced private sector and praised the ongoing success of Waka Mere.

Marielah Patovaki from Vella la Vela in the Western Province has worked for National Fisheries Development (NFD) for 21 years and she says being part of the Waka Mere initiative has positively impacted her performances in the workplace.

“Not only that it impacts us women professionally but also it changes our life style. That is why it is important for us to take back what we have learned and introduce them to other women in our respective companies, women like me who have not been through much formal trainings.

“Unlike before, now I have confidence in approaching our male work colleagues and even the bosses,” she added.

Solomon Power is among the fifteen companies that have signed up for Waka Mere and according to Manager Business Performance, Mrs Sarah Nihopara, the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) is taking necessary steps to address the areas covered by Waka Mere.

“At the moment we have six female employees in jobs that are traditionally dominated by men and we are supporting them in their work.

“In terms of domestic violence, we are drafting our policy which will be presented to our board for approval before we move forward to actually implementing it. But we have already made awareness and training for our contact team so that they are aware of how to go about dealing with domestic violence which impacts the workplace,” Mrs Nihopara said.

The Waka Mere initiative is in its second and final year and there has been great progress towards achieving the commitments set by participating companies. As Tuesday’s forum demonstrated, their employees are already reaping the rewards of investing in a gender equal workforce.

According to a Waka Mere mid-term report released in October last year, eight companies have now set measurable targets for increasing the share of women in leadership positions and are investing in women through management and leadership courses.

Nine out of 12 women who attended the courses were later promoted or given broader responsibilities.

Eleven Waka Mere companies trained teams on how to respond to staff affected by domestic violence and started implementing internal policies for addressing domestic violence, as part of Commitment 2 ‘Building respectful and supportive workplaces. At the same time, more employers started to train women to take on traditionally male-dominated roles such as driving company vehicles. 

IFC with the support of SICCI have provided training, workshops and opportunities for the companies to meet and share experiences and ideas.

The fifteen companies are expected to complete an endline survey in July 2019, to track progress against where they started.

Waka Mere companies include: Bank South Pacific, Bulk Shop, GPPOL, Hatanga Construction Ltd, Heritage Park Hotel, National Fisheries Development, Pan Oceanic Bank, Solomon Airlines, Solomon Breweries Ltd, Solomon Islands National Provident Fund, Solomon Islands Port Authority, Solomon Islands Tobacco Company Ltd, Solomon Water, Solomon Power, and SolTuna.

The Waka Mere Initiative is supported by the governments of Australia and New Zealand.

The Waka Mere Initiative is supported by the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Government funding is under Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development. Under the Pacific Partnership, Australia, New Zealand and IFC are working together to stimulate private sector investment, promote sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty in the Pacific.