Being the First: Women Leaders in the Pacific Islands

Being the First: Women Leaders in the Pacific Islands

Women in the Pacific face many barriers women to participating in formal politics. Yet some defy these barriers, are elected to parliament, and achieve high office. This paper describes the experiences of three such women: President Hilda Heine from the Marshall Islands; the Honorable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa from Samoa; and Dame Carol Kidu from Papua New Guinea. It is part of the Developmental Leadership Program Gender and Politics in Practice series.