Understanding women’s pathways to political leadership remains a critical area of academic and public policy focus in the Pacific.

Abstract The Pacific Islands have the lowest level of female parliamentary representation of any region in the world, and electoral trends point to the very slow pace of change. There are 19 male members of parliament to every one female member in the region, compared to four to one globally. This reflects a range of...

The 2015 Bougainville election was a milestone for women’s political representation. The largest-ever cohort of women candidates contested; one candidate, Josephine Getsi in Peit constituency, became the first women elected to the House of Representatives in an open seat. She joins the three women members elected in reserved seats in a House that now has...