Laws that limit women’s ability to participate in the formal economy and exclude them from starting or running a business do not only bring economic disadvantage to women and their families but also to the society at large.
Women in the Pacific, for example, could not own land, register their business, and access lending institutions because of legal and cultural barriers.
A multi-pronged approach helped to lower these barriers to Pacific women’s participation in the private sector.
Broader initiatives to ease the constraints of doing business in the Pacific should, wherever possible, include provisions to accommodate women’s specific needs to ensure their equal access and benefit.
Meanwhile, dedicated projects are needed to further improve women’s technical and management skills to expand their opportunities in the formal and professional sectors.