These cases have shown that women are choosing development options which build on the strengths of family systems, and therefore preserve the customary ways. Are the customary ways preserving the physical, social, economic and spiritual well-being of women, in these rapidly changing times?

n.a. not applicable

a presently unemployed

b child in school at present/ looking to next year.

Source: Fairbairn-Dunlop P. and Struthers J., 1997. Review of the Women’s Social and Economic Development Program (WOSED), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wellington.

Major economic and social transformations are occurring today, and are changing household formations and patterns of obligation rapidly and substantially. New data are showing areas where Pacific women do not enjoy equal chances with males, such as education. Educational equity is particularly critical because education is the key to every other aspect of personal and national development. It is linked with good health, widened employment options, and the sustainable use of natural resources. Education is also positively correlated with population growth, in that women with a higher level of education have fewer children. (Population growth is a critical development issue because Pacific countries have amongst the highest rates of population growth in the world. It is estimated that the region’s population will double in 20 years. That over 50 per cent of our populations are aged 15 years and under presents a major challenge to every sustainable development strategy). The general pattern of educational participation and use in the region shows three trends. First, the higher the level of schooling the lower the female participation. For some countries, the major priority is getting and keeping girls in primary schools. In others, women’s access to schooling equals males through to secondary schooling, and then there is a large drop out of females at that point. Second, women are grossly under-represented in the sciences. Third, women’s educational achievements do not translate into equal participation in the economic, social or political spheres. The lack of participation of women in national decision-making means that the concerns women see as important, and the alternative strategies women’s groups such as WOSED are trying, may not be discussed at these national planning forums.

What are the factors contributing to the present under-use of women’s potential? It is probably true that the institutional structures are in place for women to have equal educational access to males, since education is compulsory in most Pacific countries. However, are there social attitudes and circumstances at play which work to prevent women from fully using these chances—are girls kept home from school to help in the home? Is it seen as a waste of time for girls to enrol in tertiary study, and, is science ‘too hard’ for girls? Or, is the belief still widely held that women do not need as much education as males because their brothers or their families will look after them?

Despite our protests to the contrary, family systems are not protecting Pacific women as in past. The disastrous effects of the weakening of family systems in these transition times is seen in the increased number of marriage breakdowns, households headed by women; land disputes and misuse of family land (as in logging contracts), unemployment and incipient poverty (overcrowded living conditions, poor nutrition), increased crime, increases in the reported incidence of violence against women and children, and the lack of care for the elderly, once the honoured members of society. The growth of households headed by women is clear in all our countries, and many of these families are living in conditions below the poverty line, as shown in Appendix 2.

Societies develop their own patterns of organisation to ensure that the social, economic physical and spiritual needs of their members are met. The communal systems—including the large subsistence sector, strong cultural identity and traditional values and the stable social fabric based on the village community and extended family systems—have prevented the onset of severe poverty on a large scale in every Pacific country. Sustainable progress in human development will depend on strengthening these systems to ensure that social, economic and structural changes will continue to improve people’s lives and their well-being. It is time to review the customary systems and the gender roles these promote to see whether they are working in the interests of women and their families.