'Patriarchy is alive': Fijian PM accused of favouring men in diplomatic appointments

Women's groups in Fiji hit out at the Prime Minister this week, saying he favours men over women to run and represent the country.

Two key organisations criticised Sitiveni Rabuka after men were appointed to diplomatic roles in Israel, Indonesia, Geneva and New Zealand.

At least 12 women applied to become Ambassadors in the four countries, however none were shortlisted.

Rabuka initially claimed there were no female applicants, but later clarified that there were 12.

He said he had not seen the full list of applicants and none of the women were shortlisted because they "didn't come to my level of selection".

"When it got to me, they were not there," he was quoted as saying by the Fiji Sun.

Fiji Women's Crisis Centre (FWCC) says women have always been underrepresented at the executive level in the civil service and private sector.

FWCC co-ordinator Shamima Ali said inequality is driven from the top.

"Patriarchy is very much alive and the Prime Minister that we have favours men over women," Ali said.

"It's not that we don't have women, we have many many women, you just have to look for them. But that's not the way things are done around here," she said.

She believes Rabuka and the coalition government deliberately exclude women.

"He doesn't see women as leaders, and the rest of society doesn't see women as leaders."

"That whole biased attitude that men make the best leaders and men rule the world, he doesn't look beyond that, neither do people in his own cabinet," Ali said.

RNZ Pacific reached out to the government's information director Samisoni Pareti for a response to her comments.

The coalition government has since announced that it is committed to advancing women's participation and leadership in the foreign service.

It said in a Facebook post that for the first time in Fiji's history, the top leaders in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs included three women.

Ali said the government's policies on gender equality do not play out in reality.

"While we have wonderful policies on women and gender equality, we have a country gender assessment, we have all kinds of things, policy papers passed by cabinet and so on, the reality is very different for women."

Female leaders are also encouraging inequality, she said.

"Women get by by not rocking the boat, so even when we do have women leaders, they pander to men's whims."

"There are no women pushing back on any of these things or demanding a place at the table. You need to have advocates inside and we don't have any," Ali said.

'We are actually regressing'

Meanwhile, the Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM) said the gender gap in the country had widened.

FWRM executive director Nalini Singh told Pacific Waves said the organisation knew of at least one female applicant who was more qualified to be an Ambassador than some of the appointees.

"We are actually regressing in terms of having more women in senior positions, in leadership positions."

"This is in direct opposition to what we have signed onto in terms of our international commitments, as well as what we have domestically," Singh said.

Fiji was a society that favoured men over women, she added.

"These appointments are a reflection of some of the attitudes that are deeply entrenched in the leadership today, in parliament, in boards etc, we are not necessarily making any progress."

More transparency was needed in the hiring process, which was often done behind closed doors.

"We, (the FWRM) over the last few years, tracked the number of women on statutory boards and we are stuck at about 20 percent."

The government needed to work with stakeholders to address the barriers and challenges for women.

"It (the government) must not hide behind procedural curtains , it needs to come out in an open and transparent manner and acknowledge that there is going to be transformation in the system."

Pacific Gender Outlook 2025, released by UN Women and the Pacific Community, highlights gender gaps in the region.

The report showed that less than 8 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women in the Pacific, the lowest share in the world. It also found that younger women are "notoriously absent" from leadership roles.

However, Palau, Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia had made substantial improvements in hiring women to decision-making roles, the report said.