Call for more support for PNG female candidates

Transcript

Papua New Guinea's Community Development Minister says women candidates need more assistance from the political system during election campaigns.

Delilah Gore recently attended an Asia Pacific Women Ministers and Parliamentarians Conference in Manila, where gender equality was a prime focus.

Ms Gore is one of only three female MPs in PNG's 111-seat parliament.

She told Johnny Blades that as with the wider Pacific region, PNG has conducted various programmes and awareness campaigns to promote the idea of women taking up leadership roles.

TRANSCRIPT:

DELILAH GORE: With Papua New Guinea, I'm looking at a good big number of women who put their hands up to go into elections, when the next election comes, because we had the Local Level Government last year and we had lots of women going into those elections so it's already an indication that there are a lot of women who want to take the leadership roles. And we have a lot of women who are CEOs of departments and companies and all this. It's a good sign that women leadership is being recognised and already we can see the progress in the way women are putting up their hands and demonstrating leadership. We're working towards seeing more women coming to parliament and also with the big number increasing of women into CEO positions in the departments and all this. It's an indication that leadership of women are now being recognised, and we can participate equally with our males colleagues.

JOHNNY BLADES: Is it more difficult for women when the campaigning is happening - is it harder to get access to resources that help your campaigns.

DG: Those are the issues that we were discussing in the Philippines. We have our uniform programmes throughout the Asia Pacific region. but we could do better if women are resourced to go into campaigns and all this. Those are the areas where a lot of women are facing financial difficulties.

JB: They're disadvantaged, women, would you say.

DG: That's the disadvantage, yes. We have a lot of women who can demonstrate their leadership but when it comes to them going into fully participating in campaigns or picking up their bills and posters and all that, they're not resourced well. So financial is another big hindrance to women going into campaigns and all that.

JB: And what do you think should be done about it in the PNG context, should parties allocate more.

DG: Yes, in PNG we have parties that do support but really we should make it as party policies to have parties assist women. Some of the women came (as candidates) independent and were not attached to parties. Those were other weaknesses that we had, and so parties should support women and it should be a party policy, that they should have some percentage of women and they should get funded.