Apia, Samoa – The appointment of Samoa’s first woman prime minister is a historic moment, not just
for the country, but for the Pacific, signifying progress towards gender equality for the region.
UN Women offers warm congratulations to Fiame Naomi Mata’afa on her assumption of the
position of Prime Minister of Samoa and on becoming Samoa’s first woman Prime Minister.
Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Women’s equal representation in political life and
decision making is fundamental to progressing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Studies show higher numbers of women in parliament generally contribute to stronger attention to
not only women’s issues but to social development and equal societies. Women’s political
participation is a fundamental prerequisite for genuine democracy as it facilitates women’s direct
engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to
approximately half of a nation’s population of women and girls.
The Pacific region has the world’s lowest levels of women in parliament (7.3% as of March 2018).
The current appointment exemplifies how progress is being made following the first woman elected
as leader of a Pacific Island country when former President Hilda Heine was sworn into office in
Marshall Islands in 2016. In March of the same year, Fiame was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in
Samoa following elections.
UN Women supports governments to realize their gender equality commitments in leadership and
decision making. In Samoa, UN Women together with the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) supports women’s empowerment through training and social norm change through the
Women in Leadership in Samoa (WILS) project, generously supported by the Australian Government
and jointly implemented with the Government of Samoa.
UN Women looks forward to working with Prime Minister Fiame across the broad range of gender
equality issues which concern Samoa, the Pacific region, and the world at large and acknowledges
the progress made by outgoing Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his team in
progressing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Samoa.